Northampton top of Prem after victory at Newcastle

The Prem.

Newcastle (12) 19

Cons: Connon 2 Tries: Spencer, Mafi, Coetzee,

Northampton (21) 36

Red Bulls of Newcastle are still looking for their first league win of the season after Northampton Saints won the match 36-19 at Kingston Park.

Saints defeated reigning champions Bath, who will face Leicester Tigers on Saturday, with a five-try bonus-point victory.

Saints’ 30-minute lead in the contest was made even more impressive by JJ van der Mescht’s twice-sin-binned doubles on either side of the break.

Newcastle will cling to the positives because they were unable to make the most of their failure to come within two points of parity twice as a man to the good.

In the opening seven minutes, Saints scored two converted tries, with Van der Mescht scoring from close range and scrum-half Alex Mitchell touching down after Tommy Freeman’s England team-mate burst down the right flank.

The big chance to come to an end was on 32 minutes when Van der Mescht was sent off for hands on the ball in a Newcastle maul, even though Oli Spencer picked a crossfield kick from Brett Connon.

The hosts cut the lead to two points before the South African lock, with Amanaki Mafi muscling his way over after 35 minutes. However, they were unable to add more pressure to Saints when Fin Smith teed up Freeman just before the break to restore breathing room at 21-12.

Van der Mescht’s second transgression on 50 minutes, when he hit a dipping Boeta Chamberlain, resulted in a second yellow and a red for the Red Bulls.

With their first touch in the corner, Stefan Coetzee scored the winning goal, putting Newcastle back within two points, 21-19.

However, Saints always seemed to have another gear in play, and this time, Edoardo Todaro put a final touch on a flowing right-to-left sweep through Mitchell and Rory Hutchinson to once more open up the dialogue between the two teams.

After Chamberlain’s swift break down the right wing, the TMO only decided to rule out a lifting tackle from George McGuigan in the build-up, which gave Newcastle a brief lead at 26-26.

Fletcher, McCallum, De Bruin, Usher, Lockwood, Elliott, Beeckmans, and Coetzee are the replacements.

Freeman, Todaro, Hutchinson, Dingwall, Litchfield, Mitchell, Fischetti, R Smith, Davison, Coles, Van der Mescht, Kemeny, Graham, Chick, and the Northampton Saints.

Wright, Iyogun, Green, Lockett, Prowse, Pollock, McParland, and Belleau are the replacements.