Newcastle 22-23 Wasps: Lima Sopoaga's late penalty snatches victory
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 28/09/18 11:19pm
Lima Sopoaga's late penalty snatched a 23-22 victory for Wasps over Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park.
The Falcons led 15-13 at half-time and then 22-13 when Johnny Williams grabbed his second try.
However, a scorching 60th-minute score from Juan de Jongh, converted by Sopoaga, made it 22-20. Wasps' fly-half then landed a crucial 45-metre penalty with eight minutes to go that ensured the visitors clinched the points.
In a dramatic finish, Newcastle ran the ball back out when Sopoaga missed another 45-metre shot with 59 seconds on the clock. The home side went through 20 phases and six minutes of overtime before their brave attempt to save the game foundered.
Simon Hammersley, Toby Flood and Niki Goneva all made early breaks and it needed a good tackle from Sopoaga to halt the Falcons full-back.
But it was Wasps who got on the scoreboard first with a 13th-minute try. Sopoaga missed a long-range penalty but his clever kick through set up the score for Josh Bassett, which referee Karl Dickson initially ruled out but then awarded after checking with TMO Sean Davey.
It looked as if Hammersley's tackle had driven Bassett over the dead-ball line but replays showed the winger had got it down in time to make it 5-0. Sopoaga missed the conversion.
Newcastle hit back five minutes later with Sinoti Sinoti pin-balling off defenders from Hammersley's pass to find Mark Wilson and the England forward rumbled in for his fourth try of the season.
Flood tried a quick drop-goal attempt for the conversion - and missed it - which indicated there may have been some doubt about the try.
Sopoaga did the same when Michael le Bourgeois appeared to have scored in the 23rd minute under the posts but Dickson stepped in and asked for the TMO, who ruled there had been a knock-on, and Wasps had to be satisfied with a penalty from Sopoaga for offside.
Davey was called on again on the half-hour mark when Newcastle went to the corner three times with penalties and Johnny Williams eventually forced his way over.
On review, Davey awarded the try and Flood converted and then kicked a 36th-minute penalty for offside to make it 15-8.
Newcastle comprehensively failed to handle the restart, Wasps camping on the Falcons line, and from the resulting scrum Sopoaga threw an outrageous one-handed overhead pass for Marcus Watson to score in the corner against his former club and make it 15-13 at the break.
A massive run from Gary Graham was carried on by Sinoti and after he was hauled down close to the line, Williams snapped it up to go in and Flood converted to make it 22-13 in the 47th minute.
It seemed Tom Penny had scored after an Adam Brockelbank breakthrough and Goneva's inside pass, but the replays showed Penny was in touch.
It was something of a turning point, with Wasps dominating the possession which followed, and a couple of breathtaking moves had the Falcons scramble defence stretched, and eventually broken, when De Jongh scorched over. Sopoaga's conversion made it 22-20 in the 60th minute.
The Wasps fly-half then kicked the 72nd-minute penalty from 45 metres out when Newcastle strayed offside. It put his side 23-22 ahead and Wasps held on in a frantic finish.