Leicester heap more woe on Newcastle in Geoff Parling's return

Geoff Parling made a triumphant return to Kingston Park as his Leicester side extended Newcastle’s losing start to the Gallagher Prem season with a 39-17 victory.

Leicester’s head coach, who had begun his glittering career on Tyneside, saw the Tigers complete a clinical five-try performance, including two for Joaquin Moro, to move up to third in the table.

It was a sixth defeat on the spin for the Red Bulls in front of another 10,000-plus crowd.

Leicester opened the scoring on six minutes when Billy Searle judged the wind impeccably with a 40-metre penalty.

The Tigers extended their lead seven minutes later when lock James Thompson scored his first league try of the season from a close-range forward drive, Searle converting.

Leicester were temporarily reduced to 14 players when wing Ollie Hassell-Collins was yellow-carded, and the Red Bulls took advantage on 21 minutes.

Leicester repelled fierce home pack drives, but when fly-half Brett Connon floated a superb long pass, full-back Ethan Grayson trotted over from 15 metres with Connon adding the extras.

Newcastle had barely finished celebrating when they conceded within two minutes when number eight Moro exposed a hole in the home defence to dash through untouched for a try, which Searle converted.

The Red Bulls did reduce the deficit to 17-10 at the interval with a Connon penalty, and the men in black were rapidly out of the blocks for the second period.

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There were two opportunities for Grayson, but he could not take the pass out wide from Connon and was then stopped by Hassell-Collins’ desperate tackle just as the Red Bulls full-back threatened to dash clear.

Newcastle, though, undid their good work by conceding a series of penalties which allowed Leicester to exert pressure.

They successfully kept out Hassell-Collins down the left and then Adam Radwan on the right, but the Tigers retained possession, with Freddie Steward sauntering over for his second try of the campaign.

Searle converted and soon added a penalty to give Leicester breathing space at 27-10.

The Tigers clinched their four-try bonus point in spectacular fashion seven minutes from time when Moro took a superb angle to finish after substitute fly-half James O’Connor ran back a deep home kick assisted by Hassell-Collins. Orlando Bailey converted.

Richard Palframan drove over for Red Bulls’ second try three minutes from time, but Leicester had the final say when flanker Tommy Reffell finished off a penalty line-out drive with an unconverted try.