Virimi Vakatawa lifts Bristol over desperate Newcastle

Bristol made it back-to-back Gallagher Premiership wins after producing a gritty away display to beat winless Newcastle 21-13 at Kingston Park.

An early try from hooker Harry Thacker preceded Louie Johnson’s penalty in first-half stoppage time to hand the Bears a 7-3 advantage at the break.

Rory Jennings’ superb kick reduced the deficit to a single point but there was no comeback on the cards despite relentless pressure on a heroic visiting backline.

Virimi Vakatawa ended all home hope with an excellent try, with Gabriel Oghre getting another late one to lift them above Leicester in the table – Kiran McDonald’s late try for the Falcons proving only a minor blemish.

Mateo Carreras and Guy Pepper returned to the starting XV for the hosts following injury lay-offs, while Kyle Sinckler made his 50th appearance for the Bears.

The visitors were handed a golden opportunity to make the perfect start inside two minutes with a penalty, but Callum Sheedy’s kick drifted wide of the post.

Carreras made a crucial intervention in the 10th minute with a last-ditch tackle to stop Rich Lane opening the scoring – the home side standing firm against building Bristol pressure.

But the resistance was finally broken on 17 minutes – Thacker touching down following a maul which moved infield from the left-hand side.

To their credit, the Falcons came into the game towards the end of the half and could have easily levelled the scoreline.

A sustained attack severely tested the visitors’ concentration levels but – despite more than 20 phases of play – they could only get on the board via a penalty from Johnson in added time.

Jennings was introduced seven minutes after the break and made the perfect impact, kicking a brilliant penalty from 40 metres to give the north-east side hope of their first win of the Premiership season.

The pressure was increasing once again on the Bristolians – the momentum swinging ever more in favour of the Falcons, the crowd volume rising with every tackle and every decision that went their way.

Hugh O’Sullivan and Tom Penny both gained significant ground with lung-busting runs after the hour mark but could not find a way past a stubborn visiting rearguard.

And they were made to pay for their profligacy when Vakatawa powered through to dot down on 69 minutes.

Sheedy added the extras to increase the lead to eight and the result was beyond doubt four minutes from time when Oghre scored after a maul to deny the hosts the losing bonus point.

A bleak start is turning into a nightmare season for the Falcons – defeat here extends their winless run in the league this season to nine – and a late try from McDonald was scant consolation.