Match Report
Sale - 19
Newcastle Falcons - 0
The Falcons got off to the ideal start, enjoying the better of the early possession and opening their account when a 15th-minute penalty was kicked to the left corner.
From the resulting line-out Evan Olmstead delivered off-the-top ball for scrum-half Ruaridh Dawson, who fed teenage centre Charlie Wilson for a well-taken score at first receiver.
Brett Connon slotted the extras, Newcastle probing the blind-side in search of a second try but finding themselves denied by some eager defence from the Sharks.
The score finally arrived on 35 minutes when a huge dummy from centre Belisario Agulla allowed the centre to dive in for a converted try down the right-hand side, Ben Sowrey almost following it with a third when his fantastic support run saw him hauled down just short of the line.
Fit-again flanker Gary Graham was a positive bundle of energy with a string of big hits and keen ruck work around the park following his summer move from Jersey, Dawson providing a steady supply of quick ball from scrum-half for a Falcons side who had won their A-League opener 67-21 at Wasps.
Taking a 14-0 lead into the second half, Newcastle searched for further points as skipper Ryan Burrows showed a fair turn of pace with a midfield break, Sinoti Sinoti and Olmstead among the supporting runners in a move which petered out around the Sale 22.
The third try duly arrived on 50 minutes when Agulla did well to ground the ball amid heavy traffic in the left corner, and the bonus-point score was worth the wait 18 minutes later when Connon’s perfectly-judged cross-kick found Adam Radwan at full stretch in the right corner following a series of slick offloads.
Glen Young scored try number five when a big miss pass put the lock away for a sprint to the left corner, Connon’s touchline conversion completing the scoring for a Newcastle side sitting on a perfect 10 points.
**Falcons Development Team:** 15 Cameron Cowell, 14 Zach Kibirige, 13 Belisario Agulla, 12 Charlie Wilson, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Ruaridh Dawson; 1 Sami Mavinga, 2 Ben Sowrey, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 4 Tevita Cavubati, 5 Evan Olmstead, 6 Harrison Orr, 7 Gary Graham, 8 Ryan Burrows (captain).
**Replacements:** 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Diogo Ferreira, 19 Glen Young, 20 Nick Civetta, 21 Adam Radwan, 22 Joel Matavesi, 23 Simon Uzokwe.
**Falcons scorers -** Tries: Charlie Wilson, Belisario Agulla 2, Adam Radwan, Glen Young. Conversions: Brett Connon 3.
**Sale Jets:** 15 Alex Dolly, 14 Arron Reed, 13 Billy Wara, 12 Luke James, 11 Jamie Cooke, 10 Cameron Redpath, 9 Matt Sturgess; 1 Jake Pope, 2 Curtis Langdon, 3 WillGriff John, 4 Matt Postlethwaite, 5 George Nott, 6 Nic Dolly, 7 Dave Seymour (captain), 8 Laurence Pearce.
**Replacements:** 16 Ianto Jones, 17 John Blanchard, 18 Ian Williams, 19 Kennet O’Neil, 20 Tom Walsh, 21 Harrison Brown-Raw, 22 Sam Stelmaszek, 23 Chris Calvert.
