Lawson Pleased With Saints Victory
Coming off the back of his team’s sixth successive home win Newcastle Falcons Hooker Scott Lawson was pleased to report on another positive Falcons’ performance.
In a game which saw the lead change hands multiple times, the Falcons were first off the mark thanks to a try from Alex Tait, and broke away to record a 20-11 half time lead before eventually emerging on top of a 26-25 score line.
Speaking after the Scotland international Lawson said:
“We’re delighted. The performance wasn’t as good as it could’ve been but to be in that position and still get a win against Northampton is really pleasing.
“We knew Northampton would try to get back in the game with their scrum and their maul, and at times we let them do that, but on the whole we were pleased that we did enough on our own to create a platform and to show what we can do.”
With almost half of the home side’s points collected between the posts, the Falcons remained level-headed despite throughout a tense and thrilling match.
“Our discipline was good today; we went in at half time with a good lead having scored two tries and a couple of penalties, and I think a team concedes penalties when they’re under pressure.
“The number of penalties we collect also limited the number of line outs and mauls that Northampton can put out.
“Discipline had a huge part to play so it’s about being intense, physical and accurate, and in that regard we played well.”
Heading into the changing rooms with a nine point lead at half time, the Falcons were unfortunate to concede two scores from the visitors after the break. But six points of their own enabled them to maintain momentum and end the match on top.
“We got those two scores ahead but when we didn’t concede early in the second half we were able to maintain that, which meant that for the last ten/fifteen minutes Northampton had to chase the game rather than build on their own sore.
“Our boys dug deep towards the end of the game and that resilience when things weren’t going our way played a big part. It was just great to get the win.”
The result was made all the sweeter for its place in front of a season-high crowd of 7,218 at Kingston Park Stadium.
Although aided by the record breaking Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup junior festival run earlier that day by the Falcons Community Foundation, the team’s recent home
form has also been integral to building spectator numbers at the stadium.
“We put in a big performance last weekend against Leicester Tigers and I think that excited the people of Newcastle, so it was good to have so many of them here in the stadium for the game against Saints.
“As far as a spectacle and some running rugby goes we’ve not disappointed with the show we’ve given them and we’re delighted both to have them here and with the end result.”
With the Falcons currently enjoying a stellar run of home form, the challenge now is to continue that on the road. But Lawson says the team know exactly what they need to do when they visit Kingsholm to face Gloucester Rugby this Saturday.
“The home advantage counts and when you go away from home you have to be good enough to overcome that. We’ll go down there knowing we have to be on top of our game but with the confidence that if we perform we can grind it out.”
