Nadolo scores twice as champions Leicester grab first win of season

Nemani Nadolo scored two tries as defending champions Leicester beat Newcastle 36-21 for their first win of the Gallagher Premiership season. Tigers took the lead within three minutes from a James Cronin try but Falcons hit back with two of their own through Josh Barton and George McGuigan.

Fijian Nadolo also set up a Chris Ashton try with a sublime pass to give Tigers the lead at the break but Falcons scored early in the second through Mateo Carreras to set up an edgy final 30. However, a Jimmy Gopperth penalty and Olly Cracknell’s converted try inside the final ten minutes handed the Tigers the bonus-point victory and condemned the Falcons to their second successive defeat.

Roared on by the home crowd, prop Cronin drove over the line to open the scoring for Leicester with 39-year-old fly-half Gopperth adding the conversion on his home debut. The Tigers had their second try four minutes later as the ball was zipped out wide for winger Nadolo to dive over the line as Steve Borthwick’s men opened up a well-deserved 12-point lead.

The Falcons grew into the game and capitalised after 18 minutes through a slick move that led to scrum-half Barton beating the Leicester defence for a try. Tigers almost ran the ball in from their own try line in the 25th minute after some scintillating rugby took them to the edge of the Falcons 22, but Ashton kicked the ball through instead of passing to the onrushing attacker and the ball ran out of play.

The Falcons took a surprising lead eight minutes before half-time as hooker McGuigan rolled over the line following a pick and go from close range with Brett Connon adding the extras, but Leicester hit back four minutes later when Ben Youngs, on his 200th Premiership appearance, made a lovely break in the middle of the park before feeding Nadolo for his second try.

Straight from the kick-off Tigers scored again through Ashton following a delicate off-load from Nadolo with Gopperth’s conversion giving the home side a 26-14 lead at half-time. The scoring continued at the start of the second half. Following a fumble in midfield from the Leicester defence, Argentine back Carreras side-stepped his way through four Tigers players to touch down.

Both sides had a try disallowed by the TMO and unfortunately for Nadolo what would have been his hat-trick score was disallowed for a forward pass with 22 minutes to play. Tigers looked nervy before they went two scores clear through a penalty kick from Gopperth with ten minutes remaining and replacement Cracknell scored a try with eight minutes left to give the Tigers an unassailable lead.