What a difference a week makes. Eight days after suffering a 40-6 shellacking at Exeter and six days after sacking their head coach Matt O'Connor, Leicester bounced back with a vengeance on their home turf.
It wasn't perfect but this win was badly needed. The club failed to make the play-offs for the first time since 2004 last season and an inquest began during the summer.
Rumours of infighting and player unrest were never far away and last Saturday's trouncing at Sandy Park proved to be the final nail in Matt O'Connor's coffin.
Jonny May goes over for the first of his double in Leicester Tigers' 49-33 win over Newcastle
George Ford had opened the scoring for Leicester at Welford Road on Saturday
The Australian was given his P45 on Monday with Geordan Murphy, who won eight Premiership titles and two European Cups in his playing days, stepping up as interim head coach.
After a dramatic week, the home side laid siege to the Falcons and led 40-19 at the break after a five-try onslaught. Tries from George Ford, Adam Thompstone, Manu Tuilagi and a brace from Jonny May did the damage.
Newcastle scored five tries of their throughout a pulsating contest but the Tigers were always in the ascendency.
As well as scoring the first try, Ford also added 24 points with his boot in the victory
The Tigers have been labelled a 'shambles' and 'embarrassment' by former players this week. Ben Youngs promised there would be an emotional backlash against Newcastle and it duly arrived when lock Will Spencer cut a brilliant line off Ford in the opening seconds of the contest.
The Tigers laid siege to the home line with David Denton especially prominent before Ford weaved his way over the whitewash with barely a minute on the clock. The England No 10 failed to convert but the home side were up and running.
The home pack were fired up from the start and a surging lineout maul yielded a penalty which Ford converted with ease.
Tigers centre Manu Tuilagi streaks clear of the defenders to add his side's final try
Tigers put a difficult week, which saw the sacking of head coach Matt O'Connor, behind them
The decibel levels continued to rise at Welford Road and Leicester's home ground erupted when Brendon O'Connor picked up Flood's wayward pass in midfield.
England wing May was on the Leicester's openside's shoulder to notch Leicester's second try of the afternoon. Ford converted as Tigers surged into a 15-0 lead.
It was becoming an onslaught and Leicester were making yards and finding space at will. Another relentless attack ended with O'Connor sending Thompstone crashing over in the corner.
Ford fired over the touchline conversion for good measure. The players were very much letting their feelings known after a traumatic week, on and off the pitch.
Reeling from a first-quarter battering, Newcastle finally got a foothold in the contest thanks to a brilliant break from wing Sinoti Sinoti who breached the Tigers defence before offloading to the supporting Sonatane Takulua for a badly-needed try. Flood converted to make it 22-7.
Ford then extended Leicester's lead when Flood caught the impressive Kyle Eastmond with a high tackle.
Adam Thompstone evades Falcons' Vereniki Goneva, who scored twice, to go over for a score
Leicester new boy Kyle Eastmond and Newcastle Falcons' Josh Matavesi collide in a tackle
It was a matter of when, not if, the bonus point would arrive and Tuilagi duly obliged with a stunning individual effort in the 23rd minute.
The powerhouse centre cut a swathe through the Newcastle defence before racing away for a brilliant individual try.
Vereniki Goneva seized on a loose ball to score in the corner but it was a brief respite, with Flood converting from the touchline to trim Leicester's lead to 32-14.
Tuilagi has endured an injury-ravaged couple of seasons and underwent knee surgery again during the off-season but the Anglo-Samoan centre was looking more like his old self.
Another barreling run forcing the Falcons offside as Ford slotted the routine three-pointer through the posts.
Sonatane Takulua added another try for Newcastle but they couldn't reel in the hosts
The Falcons were making the most of their limited possession as Goneva shrugged off Telusa Veainu's tackle to score to cross in the corner.
Just when Newcastle seemed to be edging their way back into the game and with Eastmond and O'Connor limping off with injuries, Leicester bagged their fifth try just before the break. Quick hands from Veainu putting May over for his second try just before the break.
Newcastle bagged their own bonus point six minutes into the second half as flanker Mark Wilson burst through a driving maul to score. Flood conversion made it 40-26. All off a sudden it was game on, again.
It was all getting a big loose but Ford settling things down again with a 48th-minute penalty.
Leicester were looking a bit weary after that emotionally-charged first half and the Falcons refused to go quietly. The visitors soon had their fifth try when loosehead Sami Mavinga muscled his way over from close range. Flood's conversion made it a 10-point game.
Ford was quite the afternoon as the fly-half glided through selling Matevesi a dummy in the defensive line. The Tigers should have had more for their efforts but settled for another Ford penalty.
The pace of the game began to have an effect on the final quarter as both sides cleared their benches. Fittingly, Ford had the final says with his sixth successful penalty of the afternoon. The Tigers have got their claws back.
Link article
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/08/hosts-end-turbulent-week-with-emphatic-win-at-welford-road/
Main photo article What a difference a week makes. Eight days after suffering a 40-6 shellacking at Exeter and six days after sacking their head coach Matt O’Connor, Leicester bounced back with a vengeance on their home turf.
It wasn’t perfect but this win was badly needed. The club failed to make the...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Sport HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/08/17/4FE2AE9B00000578-6146403-image-a-56_1536425787776.jpg
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