Wilkinson kickstarts resurgent Newcastle

Newcastle 24 Leicester

They have been praying for a miracle up the road in Sunderland ever since the Black Cats found themselves in trouble. But where Mick Carthy's side failed at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, Rob Andrew's Newcastle continued the long haul to safety in an epic contest before a record crowd of 9,105 at Kingston Park yesterday.

Red in tooth and claw, never less than bruising, and often ferocious, Newcastle finished this unforgettable game with the personnel that began it; not a single replacement was called upon. Having withstood a furious second-half onslaught by the champions – and being down to 13 men after Mark Andrews and Andrew Mower were sent to the sin-bin during Leicester's most threatening period – they more than deserved their bow, as the theme from the Great Escape was belted out over the public address.

It is a tad too early to talk of being out of relegation danger, but as Andrew, their director of rugby, said: "To hold on with 13 men was an outstanding performance. We're not out of trouble yet but we're on the mend. If you don't stand up to Leicester, they will walk all over you. But we stood up to them today, and this with the added pressure of being bottom. We've now scored 14 points from our last four games, so we're going in the right direction."

Leicester's director of rugby, Dean Richards, saw things rather differently. He said: "We should have won. Some crucial decisions didn't go our way and we didn't take full advantage when they had two men off the field, although we did score one try in that period. But we should have done better."

At 21-10 going into the final quarter, Newcastle should have been home and dry, though the yellow cards put them permanently on the back foot as virtually all sources of possession dried up and, while Mower was serving his punishment, they conceded 12 points. It was no help to them when James Grindal's box kick was returned with interest by Adam Balding, for Dorian West to be driven across for the first of his two tries.

Somehow Newcastle clung on, for it would have been criminal to have wasted the work of their forwards and the brilliant try claimed so emphatically by Jamie Noon, who chipped ahead and followed that with a perfectly weighted hack on before touching down. Wilkinson, who had started the half with a towering dropped goal, failed narrowly with the conversion. Though ultimately it was the England outside-half's third penalty which made the difference.

Although Newcastle made an explosive start, it was Leicester who drew first blood when their jack-in-the-box, play anywhere, Steve Booth scored a smart try.

The Falcons hit back with a Wilkinson penalty and then hit even harder when Epeli Taione combined with Hugh Vyvyan to send Michael Stephenson racing for the corner. The winger chipped Booth and won the race for the touchdown. Wilkinson converted to make it 10-7, and then added a penalty, before Booth mishit a penalty, which crept apologetically over the bar so the Falcons turned round no better than three points to the good.

Eventually they came good. Wilkinson ran the show with his usual aplomb and when Andrews returned it not only lifted Newcastle's spirits, but lifted them off the foot of the table. It was close to being miraculous.

Newcastle: Tries Stephenson, Noon. Conversions Wilkinson. Penalties Wilkinson 3. Drop goals Wilkinson. Leicester: Tries Booth, West 2 Conversions McMullen, Booth. Penalty Booth.

Newcastle: J Shaw; M Stephenson, J Noon, M Mayerhofler, T May; J Wilkinson (capt), J Grindal; I Peel, N Makin, M Hurter, M Andrews, S Grimes, E Taione, A Mower, H Vyvyan.

Leicester: S Booth; L Lloyd (G Gelderbloom, 43), O Smith (S Vesty, 54), R Kafer, F Tuilagi; C McMullen, T Tierney (J Hamilton, 76); P Freshwater (G Rowntree, 60), D West, F Tournaire (D Garforth, 32), M Johnson (capt), L Deacon (B Kay, 76), M Corry (N Back, 60), J Kronfeld, A Balding.

Referee: T Spreadbury (North Somerset).