Connacht-9 N'castle-32: Unassuming and clean-cut he may be, but it's hard to imagine any other rugby player in the world having quite the impact Jonny Wilkinson did in the west of Ireland yesterday evening.
England's world-conquering hero made his long-awaited return to competitive rugby at a sun-drenched, jam-packed and slightly awestruck Sportsground, coming through his first 40 minutes since a shoulder operation with a few classy touches and without undue difficulty. And with that England said phew.
Wilkinson had only played 58 minutes of competitive rugby since that landmark drop goal in the unforgettable last throes of the World Cup final on November 22nd, when damaging his troublesome shoulder against Northampton on December 28th.
He wasn't inclined to test his shoulder with those trademark big hits, content to move the ball adroitly, but didn't shirk contact, took the ball up fearlessly and found lengthy touches in customary fashion when required.
Alas, his post-match thoughts were not available as, typically, he was training.
"He's very pleased," said the Newcastle director of rugby, Rob Andrew. "Inevitably, he feels match rusty, but physically he feels fantastic and he took some big hits.
"There are no issues there, so that's the first thing. All he wants to do now is play again on Monday (against Munster). It couldn't have gone any better and it was a fantastic work-out for the whole squad."
While disappointed to have conceded four second-half tries, Michael Bradley was pretty content too.
"The important thing was to give everyone a game. The day was great, the crowd came out, and it was a great occasion."
The match also marked Eric Elwood's remarkable feat of reaching 150 provincial caps. Fittingly, both teams formed a guard of honour for Elwood, who was last out onto the pitch with his five-year-old daughter, Laura, and though he would naturally shy away from such attention, especially before a game, he would have been chuffed to have the occasion marked by posing with his opposite number for a photo-shoot.
For the most part, though, all cameras and all eyes were on Wilkinson. On a warm, crystal-blue evening in the west, the roads from Clifden, Ballyconneely, Roundstone and elsewhere had clearly been busy.
Wilkinson's drawing power could be gauged by the estimated 4,000-5,000 crowd, swelled by a strikingly high ratio of female supporters. Further proof, then, that he is good for the game.
The huge English media presence underlined Wilkinson's primary value to his own country though. A scorer of a record 817 points in 52 tests for his country, more tellingly they have lost five of their eight games in his absence.
And after only seven minutes came his first opportunity to find his old shooting range and it is perhaps a measure of changed perceptions since England's deserved World Cup triumph - and Wilkinson's status as a true role model - that his opening penalty was warmly cheered.
It set the tone too, penalties not being eschewed by either side as the first half ended tryless, albeit not for the want of trying. For the most part, Wilkinson was content to use his distribution skills as the Falcons probed wide.
Initially, Connacht's redesigned defence looked like being outflanked but - helped by Newcastle's early-season handling errors - they generally managed to make the drift, the impressive Niall O'Brien making two hits either side of one by Elwood.
With a variety of runners coming from deep on each of Elwood's shoulders, there was less risk to Connacht's game, but it kept Newcastle guessing.
Three Elwood penalties deservedly inched Connacht ahead, and a neat exchange between O'Brien and Matt Mostyn had the latter haring for the corner before being collared by Tom May.
Newcastle pressed hard nearing half-time with a couple of close-range lineout drives, with one culminating in Michael Swift being binned for climbing over the top - although he looked to be pulled on his way and American lock Luke Gross was lucky not to suffer a similar fate for putting his knee into Swift's head.
This was no pre-season jolly in the sun alright.
With Connacht down a man, all changed on the resumption, when Newcastle countered off a loose kick and though Conor McPhillips palmed Colin Charvis's pass inside, the ball broke kindly for Stuart Grimes to score a try amid stunned silence.
With visiting subs wearing the same numbers as the players they replaced, further warm reaction greeted Dave Walder kicking the conversion right-footed.
Maximising their advantage, Newcastle added another try off a close-range tap penalty by Andy Long.
Newcastle's strength in depth showed amid the welter of substitutions, Long again and Mathew Tait running in further tries in an anti-climactic finale. Ironically, the Falcons only really took flight when he went off.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 7 mins: Wilkinson pen 0-3; 12 mins: Elwood pen 3-3; 23 mins: Elwood pen 6-3; 27 mins: Elwood pen 9-3; (half-time 9-3); 41 mins: Grimes try, Walder con 9-10; 48 mins: Long try 9-15; 59 mins: Walder pen 9-18; 76 mins: Long try, Walder con 9-25; 80 mins: Tait try, Walder con 9-32.
CONNACHT: M Mostyn (capt); T Robinson, N O'Brien, J Downey, C McPhillips; E Elwood, T Tierney; A Clarke, H Bourke, P Bracken, P Myburgh, C Short, M Swift, J O'Sullivan, M Lacey. Replacements: M Carroll for O'Sullivan, J Muldoon for Swift, C O'Loughlin for Tierney, P Warwick for Elwood, D Slemen for O'Brien (all 50 mins); T Buckley for Clarke (75). Sin-binned: Swift (38-48 mins).
NEWCASTLE FALCONS: J Shaw; T May, J Noon, M Wilkinson, M Stephenson; J Wilkinson (jt capt), H Charlton; I Peel (jt capt), M Thompson, M Ward, S Grimes, C Hamilton, M McCarthy, C Charvis, P Dowson. Replacements: L Gross for Hamilton (30 mins), A Long for Thompson, E Williamson for Dowson (both 39 mins); D Walder for J Wilkinson, J Isaacson for Peel, O Phillips for May (all half-time); J Clarke for Charvis, G Parling for Grimes, M Mayerhofler for D Wilkinson, M Tait for Stephenson (all 60 mins).
Referee: Marshall Kilgore (IRFU).
