the times | Monday February 21 2022 57
Gallagher PremiershipSport
When Callum Chick hit Josh Hodge
high and late it was as clear a red card as
you could ever see. The referee Christo-
phe Ridley reviewed the incident on the
big screen and duly sent the Newcastle
Falcons No 8 and captain off. There
were no grounds for complaint or doubt
in that decision.
However, there were plenty, arising
from the fact that Hodge, having taken
the full force of Chick’s shoulder on the
side of his head, was not sent to the side-
lines to be checked out. The Exeter
Chiefs full back looked unsteady on his
feet and was holding his head. His
team-mates were concerned for his
wellbeing and it was astonishing that
none of the officials felt the same way.
Hodge’s involvement in the game
ended when he failed to come out for
the second half. By then, though, he had
played on for another 14 minutes after
the clash with Chick. Dean Richards,
the Newcastle director of rugby,
expressed surprise at that turn of
events, although he also suggested that
the red card was unjustified as Hodge
had dropped his height into the tackle.
“The boys are saying some of the
decisions were questionable,” Richards
said. “There’s obviously a bit of favou-
ritism in some way, shape or form or
they don’t know what they’re doing.
The boys don’t know what is happening
one week to the next at the moment
and it’s extremely disappointing.
“He got the red card wrong. Josh
Hodge clearly drops height and with
that I think it goes to a yellow. In critical
decisions you’ve got to make sure that
you get it right, and they don’t.”
The controversy cast a shadow over a
game that started slowly but ended up
as a decent spectacle. Exeter probably
won a lineout in the left-hand corner
four minutes before the break, the
home side’s lack of forward grunt was
always likely to have a bearing. And so
it proved as the Chiefs gathered the ball
and sent the tight-head prop, Patrick
Schickerling, over for their first try.
Joe Simmonds’s conversion made it
7-7 at half-time, but the odds were heav-
ily in Exeter’s favour and they took
advantage from another lineout in the
44th minute, with the hooker, Jack
Innard, finishing off this time.
Newcastle looked to be done, but
they then pulled off a a stunning back-
line move, with the centres Matías
Orlando and George Wacokecoke
combining with Haydon-Wood before
the hooker, George McGuigan, piled in
to finish it off with a try. Haydon-
Wood’s calm conversion nudged the
Falcons back into the lead.How they stand
P W DL F A B Pts
Leicester 16 14 0 2 472 283 9 65
Saracens 16 10 1 5 529 296 12 54
Harlequins 16 9 0 7 392 357 12 48
Gloucester 15 9 1 5 392 343 9 47
Exeter 16 9 0 7 339 296 9 45
London Irish 16 7 3 6 418 414 11 45
Sale 16 8 1 7 365 330 7 43
Wasps 16 8 0 8 419 407 11 43
Northampton15 8 0 7 424 374 9 41
Bristol 15 5 0 10 327 407 8 28
Newcastle 15 5 1 9 239 364 3 25
Worcester 16 4 1 11 302 540 7 25
Bath 16 2 0 14 271 478 5 15Maunder tried to move the ball wide,
only for Will Haydon-Wood, the
Falcons fly half, to read it and pull off
the interception.
Haydon-Wood scuttled off and,
while his running style would never
recall Usain Bolt in his prime, he had
just enough gas to make it all the way
for his try. A few deep breaths later he
clipped the conversion over as well.
It was hugely against the run of play,
but it gave Newcastle energy and
maybe even the belief that they could
repeat their shock win against the
Chiefs at Sandy Park earlier in the
season. However, that optimism lasted
only the few minutes that passed before
Chick’s rush of blood meant they were
reduced to 14 men. From then on, it was
all about survival.
The Falcons held their lead for
another ten minutes, but when ExeterAlasdair Reid
Wilkinson’s
guru dies at 64
Kit ShepardSteve Black, Jonny Wilkinson’s revered
mentor and a member of Kevin
Keegan’s staff at Newcastle United in
the Nineties, has died aged 64.
The fitness coach, who was known
for his motivational skills and ability to
help players psychologically, was a
doorman in Newcastle before joining
the football club to work under Keegan,
in an era when they were transformed
from a second-tier side to Premier
League title contenders.
Black then transitioned to rugby
union with Newcastle Falcons. During
his first of two spells at Kingston Park,
the Falcons were promoted to the top
flight in 1996 and won their first
Premiership title in 1998.
It was at this time that Black began to
train Wilkinson, who joined the club as
an 18-year-old in 1997. Wilkinson gave
Black significant credit for developing
him into the player that would steer
England to World Cup glory in 2003 —
describing him as “the best in the world
at understanding sport, how to get the
best out of players.” In a statement,
Newcastle Falcons said: “Blackie was a
friend to all of us — a proud Geordie.
He will be missed by so many and
remembered for his huge heart.”Scorers: Newcastle Falcons: Tries Haydon-Wood
(23min), McGuigan (56). Cons Haydon-Wood 2.
Exeter Chiefs: Tries Schickerling (36), Innard
(44). Con Simmonds. Pen Simmonds (78).
Newcastle Falcons M Brown (A Radwan, 71);
T Penny, G Wacokecoke, M Orlando, N Earle
(W Montgomery 47); W Haydon-Wood, C Nordli-
Kelemeti (J Hodgson, 74); A Brocklebank,
G McGuigan (J Blamire 64), T Davison (M Tampin,
66), G Peterson, S Robinson, J Basham, C Collett,
C Chick.
Exeter Chiefs J Hodge (F Cordero, 40);
O Woodburn, I Whitten, T Hendrickson, T
O’Flaherty; J Simmonds, S Maunder (J Maunder,
67); A Hepburn B Moon, 60), J Innard (J Yeandle,
60), P Schickerling (M Street, 60), J Kirsten
(L Pearson, 42), D Jenkins (S Grondona 65),
S Skinner, D Armand, R Capstick.
Referee C Ridley. Attendance 6,205.But just when it seemed that under-
manned Newcastle were about to pull
off an against-the-odds win, they con-
ceded a penalty at a scrum. Simmonds
stepped up to give Exeter the spoils.Chick’s high tackle on Hodge was deemed worthy of a red after a TMO reviewSTU FORSTER/GETTY IMAGESDeChambeau and Johnson
snub the Saudi breakaway
Golf Dustin Johnson and Bryson
DeChambeau have committed their
futures to the PGA Tour, delivering
potentially fatal blows to the
prospects of a breakaway golf league.
The Ryder Cup team-mates have
joined the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tiger
Woods and Jon Rahm in resisting the
overtures of a Saudi-backed rival
circuit spearheaded by Greg Norman.
In a statement released by the PGA
Tour, Johnson, 37, said: “I am fully
committed to the PGA Tour. I am
grateful for the opportunity to play on
the best tour in the world and for all it
has provided me and my family.”
Hours later, DeChambeau, 28,
wrote on his Twitter account: “I want
to make it very clear that as long as
the best players in the world are
playing the PGA Tour, so will I.”
DeChambeau withdrew from the
Saudi International earlier this month
after an opening-round 73, citing
hand and hip injuries.Richards slams
‘favouritism’ by
referees in loss
Newcastle Falcons
Exeter Chiefs
14
15
deserved to win at the end, but by no
more than their one-point margin
given Newcastle’s spirited resistance
when reduced to 14 men.
Exeter, missing a host of big names,
spent much of the first quarter deep in
the Falcons’ half, churning through the
phases and hammering away at the
line. However, a combination of Chiefs’
inaccuracy and resolute Newcastle
defence kept them at bay. Those factors
led to a first try of the game — at the
other end. The Exeter scrum half Sam