Injury-hit Saints show fight as they claim long-awaited Premiership away win

Phil Dowson's men travelled north sitting eighth in the league standings and without a victory on the road since prevailing against Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park in January 2024.

But a much-changed and injury-hit Saints side rolled up their sleeves to get the job done against a Falcons team who fought until the end.

The black, green and gold, who lost James Ramm to injury before kick-off and Charlie Savala and Tom Pearson before half-time, moved into a 35-15 lead with 23 minutes to go.

But bottom side Newcastle kept battling and they pulled back to just a point behind with three minutes to play.

Saints managed to survive though, holding out in the home half with the clock in the red to ensure they would finally head home from a Premiership away match happy.

They had made 13 changes for the trip to Kingston Park, rotating after two big wins in the Investec Champions Cup knockout stages.

Only Ramm and Burger Odendaal remained in the starting 15 from the win against Castres six days earlier, but Ramm had to withdraw before the clash with the Falcons began due to injury.

That meant there was a backline reshuffle with Rory Hutchinson moving to full-back, Tom Litchfield going to centre and Will Glister coming in for his Premiership debut on the wing.

The black, green and gold were also hit with an early problem when the game started as the Falcons forwards pieced together an early score, with Murray McCallum breaking the line and Jamie Blamire picking up the prop's pass before dotting down.

Brett Connon converted, but Saints delivered a rapid response, with Tom James making the initial inroads before Savala teed up Craig Wright for his first Premiership try on his first Premiership start.

Rory Hutchinson added the extras, but Connon quickly restored the Newcastle lead with a penalty.

Falcons thought they had even more breathing space with 21 minutes gone as Callum Chick stretched out an arm to get the ball down, but the TMO spotted the No.8 had crawled his way to the line and the score was ruled out, with Saints awarded a penalty.

The Falcons kept coming though, and Elliott Obatoyinbo threatened to score in the corner, only for Hutchinson to come across and make the crucial try-saving tackle.

The Falcons full-back was knocked out in the process, forcing him from the field, while Saints also had to make a change as Savala's injury meant Fin Smith came into the action inside just 25 minutes.

Saints thought they had taken the lead soon after as Wright went over on the back of a big lineout drive, but he saw his effort ruled out for crawling on the way to the line.

It didn't take much longer for the black, green and gold to grab the lead though as they won a penalty at the scrum close to the Falcons line and used the possession to send Luke Green over.

Smith converted, but another injury blow arrived as Pearson could not continue, with a knee injury seeing him head down the tunnel to be replaced by Juarno Augustus.

Saints kept coming at Falcons and after Hutchinson spotted a gap and weaved his way through, Smith picked up the pass to score.

Smith managed to convert, but he appeared to have injured himself in scoring the try and was limping badly.

He managed to continue as Saints extended their lead with another score before the break, Glister kicking ahead and gathering to score after Alex Hearle had failed to deal with a Tom James clearance.

Smith again converted but there were real worries as he was struggling to move on his way off the field for half-time.

Smith did manage to emerge for the second half, but Saints got off to a sluggish start as Falcons produced a slick move from right to left, allowing Connor Doherty to score.

Connon missed the conversion in swirling wind and Saints tried to issue a rapid riposte, but Smith's crossfield kick wasn't grounded by Tom Seabrook, who went over the top of the ball.

Another near miss arrived on 52 minutes as Tom Litchfield dotted the ball down behind the Falcons posts, only to be denied as the TMO spotted a forward pass from James in the build-up.

Saints turned down a shot at goal after winning a scrum penalty, and Falcons quickly made them pay by securing the turnover inside their own 22.

However, the hosts didn't hold out for much longer as some exceptional combination play between Smith and Burger Odendaal opened the door for the onrushing James to score.

Smith converted but he was limping again as the knee issue continued to hamper him.

Falcons needed to respond quickly as the clock ticked past the 60-minute mark, and they managed to puncture Saints as Hearle flew through a gap in the away defence.

Connon converted and they were starting to believe, especially when Ben Stevenson powered past James to score on the left.

Connon couldn't add the extras, leaving the Saints lead at eight points with 12 minutes still to play.

Saints sent on Alex Mitchell in a bid to get some control and speed back in their game, but Falcons were the ones calling the tune, flying forward in pursuit of more points.

But the try that really ignited their bid actually came from a sucker punch as Smith's attempted grubber was blocked in the home half and the ball bobbled into the path of Max Pepper, who sprinted home for the score.

The successful conversion cut the gap to a single point with three minutes to play and the nerves were really jangling.

Saints won a huge scrum penalty just inside their own half to calm things down, but they lost the lineout with the clock in the red, giving Falcons one final shot.

However, the home side couldn't get out and Tarek Haffar sealed it for Saints by earning a match-winning penalty at the breakdown, allowing Saints to celebrate the win.

Newcastle Falcons: 15. Elliott Obatoyinbo (Max Pepper 24); 14. Alex Hearle, 13. Connor Doherty, 12. Max Clark (Sammy Arnold 58), 11. Ben Stevenson; 10. Brett Connon, 9. Sam Stuart; 1. Adam Brocklebank, 2. Jamie Blamire (Ollie Fletcher 65), 3. Murray McCallum (Richard Palframan 48); 4. John Hawkins, 5. Sebastian de Chaves; 6. Freddie Lockwood, 7. Cameron Neild, 8. Callum Chick (c).

Saints: 15. Rory Hutchinson; 14. Tom Litchfield, 13. Burger Odendaal (c), 12. Rory Hutchinson, 11. Tom Seabrook; 10. Charlie Savala (Fin Smith 25), 9. Tom James (Alex Mitchell 72); 1. Tom West (Tarek Haffar 62), 2. Craig Wright (Henry Walker 55), 3. Luke Green (Elliot Millar Mills 55); 4. Chunya Munga, 5. Tom Lockett; 6. Angus Scott-Young, 7. Tom Pearson (Juarno Augustus 33), 8. Iakopo Mapu (Temo Mayanavanua 75).

Referee: Luke Pearce