U18: FALCONS 0 LEICESTER 38
Leicester registered the first points of the contest with just three minutes on the clock when Harry Thacker crossed in the corner after some bullocking runs by the Tigers pack.
The Falcons had the chance to level the score moments later, but a penalty attempt from Craig Willis drifted wide of the uprights.
Two tries from winger Rhys Williams extended the lead to 19-0 at the break before the visitors made sure of the victory in the second period.
Thacker grabbed his brace for the afternoon after Jake Farnworth had crashed over for the Tigers with an hour played.
Newcastle started to move the ball around in the final quarter of the game, but against the run of play Oliver Povoas intercepted a pass to race clear and touchdown to seal the win for the Welford Road club.
Falcons Academy Manager Mark Laycock said: “A week is a long time in sport. After a strong performance against the North of England last week we started this game very poorly, and from that point we were never in the game as a contest.
“Once we started to believe in ourselves a bit more in the second-half we showed that we can go toe to toe with teams in the physical battle but the lads learnt that if you let teams like Leicester run at you they will.
“Credit where it’s due, they are a very well organised team and took their chances well. They have won all three of their league games so far, each with a try bonus point and they have not conceded any tries yet so they will be difficult to stop.
“For our group of players it’s all about learning from their experiences and we learnt some pretty big but simple lessons today. There were still positives in terms of individual performances despite being on the back-foot for the majority of the game.
“Stuart Cannon worked extremely hard in the contact area, under-17 Harry Snowdon came on and made a difference in the second-row and Tom Penny put in some excellent try saving tackles. We won’t dwell on it because the players need to get ready for the next challenge against Northampton next week.”
