Lawes the enforcer as Saints ease home

LEAGUE leaders Saints avoided a potential banana skin with a six-try victory over winless Newcastle Falcons. 

- ROGER PANTING

Saints only won 16-14 at Kingston Park back in October and being without a host of their leading stars, there was apprehension among home supporters that their impressive winning run would be ended.

However despite a spirited effort from Falcons, they trailed by only six points after 50 minutes, they fell away badly to concede 19 unanswered points and remain rooted to the bottom with just four points.

Falcons interim head coach Micky Ward said “The final score doesn’t lie but we let them off the hook in the first half. We left a couple of tries out there and we were the better side up to the interval and should have been ahead.

“We had a lot of entries into their 22 and were held up over their line but needed to be more clinical.”

Only two previous sides have finished winless in the Premiership, Rotherham in 2003-04 and London Welsh in 2014-15 but with only six games remaining, Newcastle must fear the worst.