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00:00So two sides that lost last week Harlequin's take on Newcastle hoping to improve on what
00:21was a disappointing ground one to this season's Gallagher Premiere. Let's catch up now with
00:25Claire Thomas and Tom May. Good afternoon and welcome to the home of the Harlequins
00:32where for the third straight year the brief has been stomped to the stoop. Fans in their
00:38droves and in their quarters have been gearing up for kickoff down the road in the infamous
00:42Cabbage Patch and been accompanied by a five-piece marching band to this gorgeous ground where
00:48we are minutes away from kickoff. Things were wet, windy and windless in Salford for their
00:54opening but they're back on home turf, the Quinns, where they'll fancy themselves against
00:58a Falcons outfit who've not picked up a win in the Premiership since last March and haven't
01:04triumphed here in more than 24 years bar one precious occasion. It's a full ball selection
01:11and one featuring five changes to the run on 15. Joe Launtry adds some heft, physical
01:16and reputational to the engine room. Chandler Cunningham-South and Marcus Smith are back
01:21in the thick of things after their exploits in the land of the long white clouds and two
01:25frighteningly talented Tyros. Their first Premiership starts in hooker Nathan Jabulu
01:30and winger Cassius Cleaves. Alex Stombrand sweated and skippered his way all the way
01:35through pre-season only to fracture his hand against sail so Stefan Lavis finds himself
01:41captain once more. Scarlet, British and Irish Lion and now Harlequin, Wyn Jones is poised
01:47for his debut off the bench where you can also find the most capped Harlequin of all
01:51time Danny Clare and Oscar Beard who was blockbuster levels of goods up in Salford.
01:58Just the one change to the starters Philip van der Vult has recovered from the illness
02:01which struck him from their opener so he packs down wearing six. Across the flank Tom Gordon
02:06was bustling and abrasive on debut as were Connor Doherty and Sammy Arnold in the centres.
02:13Amongst all the newcomers Sam Stewart becomes a club centurion today and the big big news
02:18is a last minute call up at fly half. Brett Connan was injured in the warm up so Ethan
02:23Grayson makes his Premiership and Falcons debut. It's a surname which tends to come
02:29with lashings of rugby talent and by all accounts this 22 year old is no different. 22 straight
02:37losses in the Premiership, seven in a row in this particular head to head. History says
02:44not today for Falcons. Diamond says why on earth not? Delighted to say that I'm alongside
02:50someone who knows a thing or two about playing in Falcons colours. Tom May, good afternoon.
02:55Good afternoon, good to be here. Looking forward to this one. Did you see enough on Friday
03:00night last week to suggest that when Steve Diamond promises us competitiveness this season
03:05we might just get it? Well look I think it's going to be a tough season let alone afternoon
03:10for Newcastle but I think what Steve Diamond wants to bring into this side, he's looking
03:14for players that have got grit, they talk about true north, that's it. We can have tough
03:19Southerners as well but look let's face it, this is what Newcastle have to build themselves
03:23upon, being tough, hard to beat, maybe at times they've rolled over and showed a bit
03:28of a soft underbelly, they can't do that this afternoon against a side that is let's say
03:33brimming with confidence and quality. Well if Falcons have grit, Harlequins have glitter
03:39and Pyrotechnics, they are the great showmen of this league and speaking of Pyrotechnics
03:45they've got that man back there, Conjurer, wearing the fly half jersey. Yeah well you
03:49can make a couple of changes, you can bring someone like Marcus Smith in, it makes a difference
03:52doesn't it? But I think the combination of Lee Halfpenny, Joe Launchbury and then you
03:56combine that with the international experience of Chandler Cunningham South and Marcus Smith
04:02blended with youthful exuberance which can be terrifying, it can backfire at times. I
04:08think it's a really dangerous recipe for Quinns. Ethan Grayson on debut will cut the ribbon
04:15on Premiership Rugby at the Stoop for the season. What a moment for the 22-year-old,
04:22we know what fine rugby stock he is from but how will he go on a quick dry day at a capacity
04:29Stoop and with a star-studded Harlequins tasked with defusing everything he pulls out the
04:36box of tricks. Grayson's first act as a Falcon, as a Premiership Rugby player is to send an
04:47arcing kick-off right to the cusp of Quinns 22. It's a good kick as well, it's good to
04:55see him with a smile on his face, there's a lot of pressure on his shoulders having
04:57come in like that, hasn't played a huge amount of 10, he's probably seen a couple of family
05:03members play a lot of 10 so he's probably learned a lot along the way. Well it was an
05:08appointment announced just 11 days ago, he's on a short-term loan before he heads back
05:12to San Diego to play in the MLR, so quite the ushering, the ink's still drying on that
05:20contract but it was a contract signed a long time ago by Sam Scrumoff on his 100th appearance
05:27for Falcons, he pops it up and on to Grayson and now Falcons ball in hand, the chance to
05:33flex their attacking muscles to the skies they go, that one's steepling. It's good management
05:39from Ethan Grayson because they've played one or two phases, they've gone to both wits
05:44or tried to at least and understanding when to kick is really key when you're in that
05:49role. First stretch of the legs for Nick David wearing 14, he's scored against Falcons on
05:56his last two outings against the Northerners. Just looking down from our position, I'll
06:04tell you what, Titi Lama Soteli, I mean he's pretty much a wardrobe isn't he? He was tasked
06:12with plugging the sizeable gap in Quinn's front row left by Will Cullier over the summer,
06:18I don't think there are many gaps that Titi Lama Soteli can't plug, so decorated, a trio
06:24of premiership titles, a trio of champions cups, he's won a top 14, he's won a challenge
06:28cup and he's itching by all accounts to get stuck into Saracen's, his former club in just
06:35a few weeks time. He's on defensive duties now because it's a first entry ball in hand
06:40into the Quinns, 22 for Falcons, currently ninth in the standings, what they would do
06:46to finish the campaign there. Grayson flat across the face and on to van der Valk, the
06:51South African, back from the illness that took him out of proceedings last week. Grayson
06:58is at the bottom of that rock, so it's Tom Gordon recipient of that one, signed from
07:03Glasgow Warriors over the summer. Tired of sitting behind Rory Darge in the flanker pecking
07:09order and now looking to make moves in the premiership. To the open side they come, this
07:18Blamire, who Steve Diamond reckons is the best hooker in the premiership. Looking for
07:25England honours yet again, as too is Radwan, who beats one, beats two and hauled down ten
07:29metres out. Inroads again from Falcons, who are bang up for this one. The early sign's
07:35auspicious. Blamire gets the offload away, it sticks and Falcons will strike first at
07:43the stoop. Tearing up the form book and hurling it into London's skies. It's a score for John
07:50Hawkins. That's a brilliant score from Newcastle. Went through their phases. Great line, good
07:58pace from Radwan. You don't expect anything but really, do you? But then that offload
08:02there from Jamie Blamire, his proper quality. Just as you mentioned, Steve Diamond saying
08:09there's no better hooker. When you're displaying quality like that, you can understand why.
08:15Really impressive start from the Travellers. And Ethan Grayson, much like Paul before him
08:26and a whole flurry of Grayson's up and down rugby land, is a premiership points scorer.
08:327-0, Newcastle up ahead. Arnold is heading off for an HIA, which means that young Ben
08:41Redshaw, Junior World Championship winner with England under-20s over the summer, is
08:46on and into the mix. Just going back to that point, I think all clubs are trying to balance
08:54the books, aren't they? And Andres De Gea wouldn't have been cheap, would he? It's a
09:03combination of balancing the value you get from those players that you're using, you're
09:08employing. And I think in Lennox and Yanwu, they've got a really exciting prospect. Looking
09:15at him, he's big. He's not shy of carrying out people or using his skills to try and
09:21expose space, and that's exactly what you want in those positions. Yes, that balance
09:25of being the second pair of eyes for Marcus Smith is something that he's probably got
09:30to work on, but he's a young player and that will come. No doubt we will revisit the topic
09:38of Harlequin's midfield. It's one of the intriguing narratives of this season, but at the moment
09:44the stars of the show are the Quinns at front row, Baxter, Djiboulu and Lausitele winning
09:49back-to-back scrum penalties. And now we hear the water organ at the stoop. Is that what
09:59it is? A water organ? In American sports, that is what it is. And on his first premiership
10:07start, cut and thrust and clean as you like. Nathan Djiboulu is over for Harlequin's kick
10:16to come, but this is to level it up. One entry, one try. Harlequin's back doing Harlequin's
10:22things. What a start for Djiboulu. That'll settle his nerves if ever he had any. Darts
10:30are on point. Got his roll exactly right. Hold the width. Get the ball back from Will
10:38Evans. Watch this, this will be a great camera angle. Brilliant straightening up from Will
10:42Evans. Just one yard inside means that Sam Stewart has to close his shoulders. And when
10:47you close your shoulders, as long as the ball is passed, you're dead as a defender. Djiboulu
10:53dotting down for the five-pointer. Brilliant score. This, a proper tester for Smith. One
10:59of the Steep's favourite sons. Oh, and it's a peach. We'll forget that kick-off. Two points
11:12to open Marcus Smith's account for the campaign. That was a beauty. Look at the line from Will
11:18Evans. One, two, three paces, just coming back in off his left foot. Really opens up
11:24the space. That's brilliant.
11:31Quinn's had the best red zone efficiency in the league last year and have picked up right
11:48where they left off on the attack. And it's Lamositele with the carry. Smith chasing hard
11:55off. He's had a busy last few minutes and again forced to touch one down beneath the
12:00shadow of the sticks. Works quite well, though, doesn't it, for Newcastle? He's played that.
12:04He's been very patient at the back. Watch the ball go over the try line. Dotted the
12:09ball down. This actually plays into their hands because it runs the clock down. They're
12:12not here to try and speed the game up. Still Luke Northmore is having treatment down the
12:18other end of the field. So they're actually playing against 14 men right now, Newcastle.
12:25Northmore has had such a torrid time with injury over the last few years. Finally got
12:30fit towards the end of last season. Would have been a spot on the plane to New Zealand
12:34with Steve Borthwick. He's out on the wing now. Heavily taped on that left ankle. He's
12:39limping badly. I don't think Northmore's going to be with us for too much longer. Again,
12:45the dink over the top from Smith. They've tried that a fair few times, the Quinn's halfbacks.
12:51And in the blazing sunshine, this time via the heavies up front, Falcons will look to
12:57clear their lines. They've not got a bad replacement, should Luke Northmore come off. Oscar Beard,
13:07almost like for like, isn't it? Oscar Beard, who started out on the wing last week in Salford,
13:17had four touches of the ball and managed six beaten defenders. But the story here is
13:24the face of Northmore, who looks bereft as he limps from the field, heading down the
13:30tunnel now here at the stoop. And everyone here will be fervently hoping that he's not
13:35out for long. Beard straight into the mix and getting cunning himself. He carries like
13:41a colossus. How whiffing back and forth as he carries half of Tyneside with him upfield.
13:48But again, complacent with the ball. Quinn's loser. Do you have the penalty to play with
13:54though? And looking to go quickly as Porter. So difficult when you're an outside centre
13:59in those channels and you know that you've got Chandler Cunningham South hanging around
14:05around that 15 metre mark. As I think we're about to see Sammy Arnold come back onto the
14:10field after his HIA. Arnold preparing to return to the frame. It'll be interesting
14:25to see which of the youngsters Diamond plucks off as he heads back on. Should mention bumped
14:32into Mark Mapplethorpe earlier on. England's under-20s head coach. He's in the sand somewhere
14:38in the corner. Peeks Red Rose adorned cap looking for talent and there's plenty out
14:43there. Some prodigious athletes involved on both parts today. Chibulu with a try already
14:51to his name on his first start in the Premiership. Finds his man. Down it comes and cries of
15:01heave ringing out around the stoop. Carla Quinn's marching in one direction and one
15:08direction only. The counter shove from Falcons got the job done for now. But now this is
15:14close quarters meaty stuff. Patient. Quarter jerseys are lining up and now crashing over.
15:26They can dazzle on their day but don't forget, Quinn's are just as capable of demolition
15:31jobs. Over they go. Hitting the front for the first time before a capacity. That's a
15:40good score for Quinn's. Pretty simple. Inevitable really in the end. But Will Evans using his
15:47frame to get underneath that Newcastle defence. And when you're being backed up and hit through
15:53the contact by the likes of Lamis Ateli, Joe Launchbury, Lafice. It's very difficult for
16:00Newcastle to get back on their feet quick enough and have numbers in that defensive
16:05line. Look how low he goes here. You can tell from how low Callum Chick is that they're
16:10not in a bad position. It's just really difficult when you're that close. Straight forward on
16:22paper and so it proved. Smith adds the extras and it's 14-7 in this round to Clash. We are
16:31being spoiled today in the open side Stokes. Arnold upended in the midfield. What a shot
16:50that was and of course it was Will Evans. He's having a brilliant game but then again when does
16:55he not? Chick delaying that pass but it wasn't particularly accurate. So Grayson manages to
17:04scoop it and then through the hands again it goes coast to coast from Falken's turnover for Harlequin's.
17:10And is it Will Evans rising from the wreckage? How many of him are there? It's a brilliant tackle
17:20off the initial carry from Sammy Arnold. And he's rightly lifting his shoulder up thinking
17:26but few less of them would be going down alright. But that is a brilliant tackle and just shows
17:33young kids exactly how to tackle right. Don't go high, don't go around the waist, just get low,
17:38chop someone's legs and put them on the backside. Watch this. Look how low he goes. Okay maybe if
17:46you're being really, really detailed he got his head on the wrong side and that's maybe cost him
17:51a few in pain points but brilliant tackle from Will Evans, brave. Virtually omnipresent. There
18:01he is at the base of the line out finding Porter. Here's Anye-Anwu. One of those trademark incisive
18:07lines. Tasked with being the giant, with being Esther Hazen this year. And living up to the
18:14billing. Danny Wilson telling me in the week that he's taken his opportunity. Now he's got to back
18:19it up. Porter on to Baxter and it's prop on prop as Palfreman dips a granitey shoulder and makes
18:28his tackle. Blomire wrestling Cunningham south to the floor as Cunningham has a crack. We're on the
18:37outskirts of the 22 here and again another low tackle. Tom May nods his approval alongside me.
18:43Sammy Arnold taking name. Smith up and over the top. Who will it sit up for? It's Doherty. The
18:49outside centre has Smith for company on the floor but manages to place it backwards or battle Yimbo
18:54over the ball. Protecting it as the latest Falcon Centurion sends it up and onwards. Desperate
19:03times for Falcons. Scrambling well though as those balls go over the top. The space was sought by
19:11Marcus Smith really well. When you've got a bounce of the ball like that in the 22 you have to be so
19:16careful. Okay use it please. Let's get going. Five metres from their own try line and it's low.
19:27And meteoric from Stewart. That's an excellent clearance. Scrambling well and then having the
19:39patience not to panic. That's the key because when you get pressured in your own 22 you tend to make
19:46bad decisions or you can make bad decisions. If you almost take a deep breath you don't. But if you
19:51take a deep breath and you just think right we're here it's we don't have to rush. We have possession
19:56now we kick on our terms and that's exactly what Newcastle are doing. It's working well for them.
20:00Chibuli finds Levis who no sooner than he handed the captain's armband on to Alex Johnbrown over
20:12the summer has called upon to lead again and now here is Cleaves giving us a little glimpse of what
20:17he's going to be all about. The offload is utterly divine. And there's the try. There are many items
20:27left on Lee Halfpenny's rugby bingo cards and now we can scratch Premiership try scorer off it too.
20:35When he can put his arm around his teammate as well Cassius Cleaves because that was brilliant
20:44running from him. He did all the hard work. It was good shapes initially in those midfield areas just
20:51holding defenders but that wide ball into another tight shape is what shortens up that Newcastle
20:56defence. Good leg drive through the contact and then changing direction off his right foot means
21:02that it opens up the space and then well Lee Halfpenny he knows exactly what he's doing doesn't
21:06he? That is an old head. Some pretty I don't know aging legs but they're still moving well so that's
21:13alright. Look at this brilliant now drive off the right foot create some space and Lee Halfpenny two
21:21three yards that's all you need. Yeah fine mate. Yeah all good thanks. Smith's got a difficult kick though on that five
21:33metre line. Two from two, three from three. Did I say it was difficult did I?
21:44Outside. Hooked out by Stuart and Grayson is pointing towards Arnold.
21:58Well up she goes and it's try scorer Halfpenny who's enveloped by Callum Chick. England's
22:05Callum Chick once upon a time and an athlete who's got plans to be back wearing a rose
22:10sometime soon. Ball smuggled on from Levis to Kenningham who has folded and dumped down
22:18down the short side they go. Esther Hazanesque from Anjanwu there pumping hard.
22:27Kenningham on to Lamosutele.
22:31Place backwards there really well by David who found himself
22:39properly gobbled up by Blamire and Harlequins keeping the ball alive.
22:48Beautiful condition today we cannot stress how much better this is than what they were playing
22:53in in Salford but regardless of the weather Oscar Beards is making life miserable for defenders but
23:01on trickles the ball. Luke Pearce fresh from adding to his own highlights reel says that will
23:07be enough for now and two sets of players head for the tunnel here at the Stoop. It's been an
23:13entertaining first half. Early blood drawn by Falcons through Hawkins before Djiboulu, Evans
23:19and Halfpenny responded for the hosts who are up and running. They lead Falcons in this second
23:25round clash by 21 points to seven. Well coming into this game between these two sides in the
23:40opening round we only saw 14 points just the one try from Jack Walker for Harlequins but
23:46away from the rain of Salford and the cold of Kingston Park we are seeing some slightly more
23:52sparkling stuff and the battle between the two fly halves has been intriguing indeed it's Marcus
23:59Smith who will get us back underway. Quinn's a score away from the bonus point try and waiting
24:05in the backfield hands on hips is Ethan Grayson who has looked to the manor born. Well he's looked
24:11brilliant this afternoon and I did text his dad and I said your lad's going well at ten he gave
24:16me a thumbs up and Paul Grayson said life's good and here I am supporting the Falcons against Quinn's
24:22what more could you ask for a brilliant brilliant player in his own right Paul Grayson
24:26but also a fantastic coach when I was in Northampton really good in great understanding
24:31of the game and his sort of I guess it was like a holistic vision a really high high level vision
24:38of what was going on was really helpful when you're a player. You mentioned good coaches
24:43there've been some fascinating coaching appointments across these two sides Jason
24:47Gilmore the Australian who's come in as reforming Harlequin's defence no doubt we'll talk about that
24:52as the game continues but also Alan Dickens and Lee Dixon two brilliant orchestrators during their
24:59own playing days in and in the coach's box at Newcastle. Both horrible gritty scrum halves as
25:04well uh which which says a lot about what Steve Diamond wants but but Alan Dickens uh he again he
25:09was at Northampton uh when I was there brilliant uh coach good understanding um and Lee Dixon well
25:15we know when you're adding that much international quality to try and help the nines um combining
25:21that with his role at one of the schools in in in the north it's going to be a really interesting time
25:27to see how the players react to those coaches
25:32and how Falcons react to conceding 21 unanswered points in that first half ball is with Cassius
25:39Cleaves who swivels and swerves and finds Beard who dummies and assists and Porter is over
25:51League's great entertainers strutting their stuff what a blistering start
25:57to the second half we can consider the rust is bust Harlequin's gleaming once more
26:04well it's a good line from Will Porter just tracking up the mid
26:07middle of the park but this is all about Cassius Cleaves his pace look at this full full on wheels
26:13that ability to skip out the tackle Oscar Beard did brilliantly there just to look on the outside
26:19knew exactly where the support was off his right shoulder knew what he was doing but look at this
26:27so difficult to defend as Marcus Smith knocks over another one but so difficult to defend that
26:33pace in that sort of area on the field good awareness kept ball in both hands
26:39it's exactly what you want to see from those players
26:49that's the bonus points Harlequin's looking to seal all five available today
26:57and they really have on earth a special special talent
27:01in Cassius Cleaves that's two tries that he has made in the space of about 10 minutes of rugby
27:0928-7 and very much the sense that Falcons needs to reassert themselves on this fixture
27:16smallest since Hawkins Marcus Smith sat right in behind this
27:22waiting to see which way the scrum gets a nudge on oh it's a brilliant ball
27:31half penny had a split second there before our battle yimbo was on him and the
27:36soup faithful didn't much like that challenge but up rises the welshman
27:42i know it's harsh same as theirs in the first half
27:46it's one of those ones when you know when you're going to catch it didn't release it you know
27:50you're going to get clobbered and it's just about being brave in that position
27:55sticking with it putting your body on the line for your teammates in the background
28:01he's taken a knee good collision just before our commentary position
28:09sticking a moment as smith
28:12lashes that one that's a fine kick quinzel have the darts 15 meters out
28:21slow down slow down luke yeah roberto himbo he's really really upright in that collision
28:31just slow down luke dean i want to look at this please okay we'll go for all the replays up it
28:35looks to me like he's upright and there's head contact so one slow mo then real time please
28:40and then we'll discuss everything else luke this in conversation with our tmo dean richards
28:46yes looks to me like yes it's stuck on the screen so we're happy there's head contact you know
28:55yes okay so let's go through the process please um there is head contact and it is
29:00foul play 15's upright let's discuss level of danger please just picking the replays back up
29:10so it's definitely foul play there's going to be a yellow card or a red card
29:14we're now discussing how hard he hits him in level of danger and any mitigating factors there
29:19is a step inside there by 15 he comes off his left boot looks to go on his inside shoulder
29:24so it's high danger down to a yellow card though for the step inside yep
29:32well when you it's made that clear from luke pierce i don't know and all of his teammates
29:38it's pretty hard to argue with and i think that's brilliant piece of refereeing when you go through
29:43the sort of list of uh no good point things they have to work away for real opportunity
29:51this sounds horrible but real opportunity for elliot or between boat to absolutely cut lee
29:57half penny in half but he didn't take it you can do it legally but you just got to make sure you
30:02get your body in the right positions thanks one of the very best in the business luke pierce and
30:07his empathy shown there in agreeing that he would allow jubilee to take the line out marcus smith
30:12quite happy with his touch finder so quince searching for a fifth against a falcon side
30:20shawn of one of their defenders we'd seen that move previously but this time evans rides the
30:26contacts and it's a swift reload we saw how much harry randall's quick delivery from the breakdown
30:32carved falcons open last friday night at kingston park there's the blueprint quick ball for harlequin
30:38they might well have their fifth quick balls all about getting into the spaces rather than
30:44running directly at at bodies right so the shapes have to be good from quince
30:51that's where newcastle get the opportunity the likes of tom gordon getting their hands on the ball
30:57smith onto any annual it's juggled by half penny who pirouettes and then sets off
31:02with eyes and lights with mischief
31:04over to someone who actually manages to execute a pirouette of his own despite being a good
31:12couple of kilos heavier lamas italy backs himself to play a bit of rugby and now smith
31:18out wide to cleaves will he have a try to go with the pair of wonder assists swiftly to it is porter
31:26good tackle from ben redshaw on the whip there made sure that he got his man to deck
31:30porter on to kenningham delighted to be back at the stoop for the first time since round two
31:38last season he's been so excited he said he's missed it playing here before stands as vocal as
31:45these opportunity that's a real opportunity for newcastle to go the length
31:55chase is on streaking after it is half penny he's already shown us
31:59just how much speed he's still got in the tank and look at him go
32:04cleaves now ball in two hands drops it onto his laces bounces off arnold they did not like that
32:10in the stands grayson clears helter skelter stuff at the stoop
32:30what will thrill steve diamond is the fact that that sinbin period was schoolless
32:34for harlequins 15 plays 15 good counter work and it's another voracious counter up for the
32:42falcons who have been devastating on the floor guess who sammy arnold using his back row-esque
32:48frame that was a brilliant brilliant counter up on his back see the opportunity and drive
32:54quince through straight through the middle back over the ball castle
32:59taken in chick concertinas himself over the ball which allows stewart on his hundredth game in
33:05falcons colors to pick out smith in the backfield oh it's outrageous there's the hitch step sells
33:12them with the eyes
33:17marcus smith producing one of those little virtuosic flashes of brilliance backwards that
33:23we so love that the stoop so loves this time backs they're happy to receive the ball and he
33:29has a chug and yanui well read by gordon he makes an essential tackle herbs now getting his hands on
33:37the ball for the first time evans on to another evans will to jarrod's backs the piles in in
33:43support and now porter finds herbs again so swift to rise
33:52harlequins looking for a fifth try they have been stymied since that peach from porter at the start
33:58of this second half another good hit from tom gordon in midfield on chandler cunning himself
34:03roberto inbo needs to practice dipping into those contact situations gonna get himself caught out
34:09again evan stopped in his tracks the ball squirting out and on to smith that's a knock on
34:20knock on
34:24amazing what that little double pump that marcus smith does
34:29just opens up space he did it combined with that step that he made
34:35a little look pump okay let's bind up them i mean maybe that's why he keeps his hair that long
34:40because it almost goes the wrong direction and then he steps the other way but but also the
34:45ball that he just gave i think it was to earn herpes in that midfield it was a double pump
34:50which just opened up half a fraction the space you're good for someone like herbs with his
34:57contact skills his weight through the contact area makes such a difference
35:04they need him in fine vessel marla quince because they've got a trip to the champions
35:12away on friday next week before saracens are in town the following round and then it's bath
35:18a huge block of games everything they can do to get up and running and purring will be
35:24indispensable yes please newcastle stay on nine stay on nine nine use it
35:30it's
35:34fingertips stuff from arnold he finds only porter and you could hear the exhalations there
35:39as an yanwoo and arnold slam into another arnold is appealing for an advantage of ati
35:45imbeau's got marcus smith for company who can really fly when he moves through the gears
35:50half penny is also covering swathes of london grass today big penalty newcastle really needed
36:00that because the kick chase from smith and from half penny was textbook well it was and you look
36:06at half penny and the one thing he's really good at at fullback is making decisions make a decision
36:13stick with it and go through obata imbeau on the flip side in this situation got caught in two
36:20minds he should have kicked that straight away there's nothing you can do when you've got a
36:25defender either side of you even though he's got pace he's got good footwork just take the easy
36:30option get yourself upfield further changes from steve diamond blemire is off so too is stewart
36:46so it's good afternoon to young ollie fletcher a 22 year old academy products and also on comes
36:54joe davis 18 years old the scrum half he's just graduated barnard castle school
37:00where he is being taught by the aforementioned lee dixon
37:05and those two will be straight into the mix here because we're going to have a newcastle scrum and
37:09is the 18 year old who's going to be a revelation by all accounts it'll be a pen who will feed
37:15learn a lot from lee dixon played huge amount not only for newcastle but
37:21latterly for northampton but a wealth of experience at club and international level
37:27i hope i hope just to pick up something you said he's being coached by him and not taught by him
37:32really he's certainly not a math teacher lee dixon
37:41carl we looked at it it's just a knockoff
37:43is
37:47you think grayson right in behind again bind this set piece looking to try and
37:55expose the space wherever it may appear
37:59stay on this time stay on
38:05davis 18 years old and finding himself at a capacity stoop on a sunny saturday
38:12it's what you get if you play for steve diamond opportunity if you're good enough you're old
38:17enough he said in the week when discussing the young scrum half well certainly first three passes
38:22that he's given have been sharp on the money well that is on the money right off the left hand of
38:28arnold and on to ollie fletcher who is a live wire and speaking of live wires davis finds gordon who's
38:35carrying one-handed gets the offload onto arnold here now stevenson into harlequin's territory for
38:41the first time in an age some mesmeric stuff there from falcons they've not given up on a second
38:52score just yet they've not given up on this game just yet as the corset waves part and over dives
38:59ben redshaw northern grit and diamond cut belligerence falcons won't go away
39:08well they stuck with it newcastle they haven't gone away as you say ben redshaw
39:16free run to the line but it's the shapes that they've used newcastle time and time again
39:22i have to say sammy arnold has been outstanding getting the ball away from contact those shapes
39:27in and out the back making the right decision on who to give the ball to
39:31wow i think that was into doherty and then it's just a simple pass put the ball into space
39:40that's the one as soon as the defender bites on kieran mcdonald 45 the ball goes out the back
39:47on debut ethan grayson before the watchful eye of his dad makes it a two-score game
39:56steve diamonds watches his side briefly stunned the street little double pump there from conor doherty
40:16jabuli on to kenningham and then joining at the back
40:22quarter dump truck just working its way up the pitch here no collapse stemmed for now
40:29by falcons evans with the little pump anything you can do marcus oh
40:35but crossing in the midfield the snoop thought he'd scored
40:39well obstruction it is and maybe it did make the hole but that was quality from jared evans
40:52it's a good shape everyone's flat to the line again a little double pump made opportunity
40:57to imbo make a decision defensively and then just out the back door
41:04watch little double pump go through the gap you create
41:09lee halfpenny how good is he at supporting that those those lines
41:15how many queens five man well five there's been some brilliant performances on both teams to be
41:22fair today six man certainly cassius cleaves on the wing who started for for quinn some really
41:29big impacts from him not probably what we would have wanted to see with him in crutches on his
41:35hands but today that man has been brilliant will evans is my man of the match this afternoon and
41:43outstanding made his tackles he's had positive contributions all around the field over for the
41:48knock fair play will evans come on thank you seconds remain on this one and end over end that
41:57one hurtles gathered by redshaw with just smith to be and is picked up driven backwards dumped down
42:10marcus smith on both sides of the ball remains one of a kind
42:27no
42:40clock in the red and a final throw of the dice for falcons outfit who have come to the suit
42:47full of ambition referee's hand goes up and it's a little chip over evans looking to find half penny
42:54arnold gathers but not before he can slide into touch and bring about full time
43:05harlequins
43:08back to winning ways and doing it at points in consummate style before a packs out stoop and how
43:15immense was that man right there they get their first win of the season steely in defeat last
43:23week and shimmering en route to five precious points this time around if they can consistently
43:30combine those this season they can dream of knockout rugby perhaps once more it's a long
43:37bus ride home for falcons but it will be made all the sweeter by a performance which was spirited
43:43nuggety and crucially the buzzword of the season competitive full time at the stoop in the sunshine
43:51and it is harlequins 28 newcastle falcons 14
44:00danny congratulations a bonus point victory sure but what did you make of the performance
44:05i look first of all it was about five points first home game of the season in front of our crowd we
44:09wanted to make sure we get the five points um so we did that we probably feel that we were a little
44:14bit off accuracy wise we created a lot of opportunities and didn't finish them on another
44:20day i think that that scoreboard maybe um from our point of view jumps up a little bit but at the
44:25same time i thought newcastle showed so much fighting spirit and obviously scored early and
44:29then scored again and showed that you know that sort of um kind of toughness they they had to stay
44:36in the fight and uh make it make it difficult for us and they did that and we didn't quite get
44:41maybe as much from the line breaks and the opportunities we've created but ultimately as
44:45i go back to what i what i started with it was five points um important to get that today and
44:49we'll move on to a big game at northampton next week steve not the result that you will have been
44:55after today of course but you had the first word and the last word at the home of the 2021
44:59premiership champions so by your standards was that competitive i think it was competitive for
45:06the vast majority of the game i think quinn's showing a bit of class uh with their back line
45:12two three occasions and we couldn't um figure it out marcus smith playing like the magician he is
45:18you know he makes people think all the time when they're defending and their skill set was slightly
45:23better than ours in that area but the rest of the game was which was um positive a lot of youngsters
45:28were bled young joe davis 18 years of age um how he doesn't get in the england 20s set up i don't
45:34know but he's the only kid playing premiership rugby at the moment um and and lots more far too
45:41many to mention but so a reasonable performance we've just got a we we we put a lot of errors from
45:46last week away and maybe that was being ring rusty um but we'll get better we'll get better
45:51the group are very tight and uh and we'll have a good collective crack tonight going back to newcastle
45:57um we've got some debutants and we've got some new players etc etc sam's sam uh had his
46:04100th game at scrum half so lots of good things you know i'm disappointed the result no one likes
46:08losing but end of the day someone has to win it wasn't us today and credit to a really good team
46:14that uh you know played some good rugby to beat us