Nerve-jangler for Saints as Newcastle push them all the way at the Gardens

The black, green and gold were never allowed to feel comfortable, even when they moved into an eight-point lead with less than two minutes to go at a sun-soaked cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.

Newcastle kept scrapping and they set up a nervy final few seconds thanks to a Tom Christie try and Brett Connon’s conversion.

But Saints eventually held their nerve to secure a 28-27 success, moving back to the top of the table after being displaced from the summit by Bath's big win against Saracens on Friday night.

Phil Dowson's men would have hoped for a much smoother return to PREM action, especially considering Newcastle had won just one league game all season.

But the Red Bulls looked far better than their PREM standing suggests as they caused huge problems throughout for a Saints side missing a laundry list of stars.

It had looked like that wouldn't matter as Phil Dowson's men came flying out of the blocks, with Tom Litchfield and George Furbank doing some fine work to engineer a try for Archie McParland inside the opening two minutes.

Anthony Belleau expertly added the conversion but Saints didn't value the ball in the period that followed, allowing Newcastle to get a foothold in the game.

The away side used their possession well and after some slack Saints defending, No.8 Ollie Leatherbarrow went flying through the middle unopposed.

Connon converted and the Gardens was left stunned by how easily and quickly the Red Bulls had been able to respond.

Saints lost Ed Prowse to a head injury assessment, bringing Aiden Ainsworth-Cave into the action for his Gallagher PREM debut.

Newcastle were finding their way into the game though and after Saints fell asleep again, the away side made hay in the Gardens sun, breaking from inside their own half as Harrison Obatoyinbo raced home on the left.

Connon missed the conversion but Saints were now 12-7 down as their fans tried to wake the team from their slumber.

Furbank tried to work his team back into the game, slotting a lovely kick deep into Newcastle territory, allowing Saints to pinch a lineout and pile on the pressure.

Furbank flew towards the line but he was involved in a horrible collision with Newcastle centre Sammy Arnold, who was sin-binned for his part in the incident.

Saints sent on Ollie Sleightholme and he scored with his first touch, easily dotting down on the right after his team-mates had moved the ball well.

Belleau added the extras, slotting his conversion with some help from the post, putting Saints 14-12 up.

But Newcastle were still finding it easy to pull Saints apart and the home side were lucky to escape as the Red Bulls butchered a big chance on the right.

Saints were losing players to injury, with Prowse having gone off early on, to be followed by Robbie Smith, who had to go off for a head injury assessment.

Newcastle were having issues of their own, going down to 13 men after prop Adam Brocklebank joined Arnold in the sin bin for raking his foot down Curtis Langdon's leg at the breakdown.

The Red Bulls refused to be deterred by their lack of numbers though, and they kept hold of the ball well, pushing Saints back into their own 22 with a prolonged period of pressure.

Newcastle kicked a penalty to the corner as they looked to squeeze Saints further, but the home side did well to resist, winning a key penalty on their own line.

Furbank returned to the field after being patched up, while Rhys Beeckmans came on for Arnold after the centre's sin-bin period ended, bringing Red Bulls back to 14 men.

Saints were still struggling to click in any department and they soon lost a man of their own to a yellow card as James Ramm was penalised for offside as Newcastle looked to score.

The Red Bulls returned to 15 men and kicked the penalty to the corner, but Saints secured a penalty to stop the away side going in front.

Saints managed to hold their lead into half-time as they headed in with plenty of work to do ahead of the second period.

The black, green and gold were desperate to show improvement after the break, and time after time they worked their way into the Red Bulls 22 only to lose the ball.

The home side were so hungry for a score that would increase their lead, and finally it came as they used a powerful maul to send Langdon over as the hooker finished in really strong fashion on his first Gardens appearance of the season.

Belleau converted to stretch the lead to nine points, but Newcastle kept coming, with Langdon doing well to win a penalty to provide some relief after a lengthy period of pressure.

Saints were eager to find their way upfield to secure a bonus-point score that would give them some breathing space, but Furbank was stopped agonisingly short by some impressive last-ditch defending.

Newcastle just would not go away and they got the nerves jangling again as they cut the gap to six points with a Connon penalty that came after the impressive Harrison Obatoyinbo caused huge problems on the left.

Saints were even deeper water soon after as they knocked on close to halfway and Newcastle kicked ahead, allowing Simón Benítez Cruz to gather after a kind bounce and score.

Connon had the chance to put his side ahead, but he missed the conversion to leave Saints 21-20 up with seven minutes to go.

Both teams were battling for every blade of grass and Saints needed to hold their nerve.

The home side looked to have put the game to bed when they moved the ball for Litchfield to score on the left, with Belleau adding a nerveless conversion to stretch the lead to eight points with less than two minutes to go.

But Newcastle, as they had all day, kept fighting and they made it an edgy final few seconds as Christie powered over and Connon converted.

Newcastle would have to work their way from inside their own 22 if they wanted to win the game, but they couldn't manage it as Saints held firm and Ramm booted the ball out to put the seal on a hard-earned home win.

Saints: 15 George Furbank; 14 James Pater (Ollie Sleightholme 61), 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Tom Litchfield (Toby Thame 79), 11 James Ramm; 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Archie McParland (Tom James 79); 1 Emmanuel Iyogun (Tom West 56), 2 Robbie Smith (Curtis Langdon 20), 3 Luke Green (Cleopas Kundiona 56); 4 Ed Prowse (Aiden Ainsworth-Cave 12), 5 Chunya Munga; 6 Tom Lockett, 7 Tom Pearson (Charlie Ulcoq 79), 8 Callum Chick (c).

Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo; 14 Oli Spencer (James Elliott 69), 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Sammy Arnold (Rhys Beeckmans 30), 11 Harrison Obatoyinbo; 10 Brett Connon, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz; 1 Adam Brocklebank (Nicky Little 69), 2 George McGuigan (c) (Ollie Fletcher 53), 3 Richard Palframan (Murray McCallum 40); 4 Freddie Clarke (John Hawkins 46), 5 Adam Scott; 6 Reuben Parsons, 7 Tom Christie, 8 Ollie Leatherbarrow (Tom Gordon 56).

Referee: Ian Tempest