George Ford went some way towards putting his Six Nations blues behind him with an imperious kicking display to steer Leicester to victory against Newcastle. Ford finished with 16 points on his return to the Tigers side and, while it was not a match that will live long in the memory, Steve Borthwick’s rebuilding job at Welford Road continues. In keeping with the recent glut, there were also three more yellow cards, taking the weekend’s total to 20-plus three reds, and an incident that left Newcastle aggrieved and their tighthead prop Jon Welsh – who had been involved in a pre-match altercation with the Leicester and England prop Ellis Genge – with a dislocated shoulder. It occurred just before Leicester’s first try when Jasper Wiese – only just back from a four-match ban – clearly came in from the side when clearing out Welsh and though the referee Karl Dickson reviewed the incident with the TMO, he determined that as the infringement was technical, rather than “foul play” he could not act. The Newcastle director of rugby, Dean Richards, said: “Obviously the guy comes from the side. He’s at his most vulnerable when he doesn’t expect someone to come in from the side. It doesn’t seem right that you can go in from the side and not be foul play when somebody dislocates your shoulder. It doesn’t seem quite right and I don’t understand that.” In the ensuing passage of play Wiese then barged his way to the line and though Newcastle just about held him out, Hanro Liebenberg was on hand to force his way over. If it left a bitter taste for the Falcons, it does not explain why they lost, and it must be said Ford was impressive throughout with his kicking both from the tee and from hand in conditions that did not make for the kind of try-fest that is becoming increasingly common in the Premiership. In an attritional contest Leicester’s defensive effort also caught the eye and ultimately it was Ford’s points that separated the sides, who managed to score two tries apiece. He converted Liebenberg’s try and added another three penalties before the break – the last a fine effort from wide on the right after the Newcastle lock Darren Barry was shown a yellow card. The closest Newcastle had come to registering on the scoreboard was a fine move that released Ben Stevenson down the left but an equally good covering tackle from the Leicester centre Dan Kelly ensured the winger’s effort was ruled out. Newcastle, to their credit, held on for the nine and a half minutes Barry was off the field, but when restored to 15 men they found breaking down Leicester’s defence equally difficult. Their cause was helped when Wiese again infringed in attempting to clear out a ruck and this time he was shown a yellow card. The Falcons’ hopes increased further when England’s newest debutant, George Martin, followed him four minutes later, having only just come off the bench. Two minutes later they duly capitalised with Will Welch awarded a close-range try after much deliberation between Dickson and the TMO. Back to within nine points and with a two-man advantage, the Falcons suddenly had a spring in their step, but a silly penalty conceded just inside their half was clinically punished with another fine kick at goal into the wind from Ford, who was evidently happy to be back in familiar surroundings following England’s dismal display in Dublin last weekend. “It’s a good place to be at the minute,” he said. “It’s pretty seamless and hopefully we can have a strong finish to the season. It was good to get back in, get your focus and get your head on playing an important game for the club.” Newcastle continued to batter away at the Leicester line for sustained periods but a combination of their bluntness in attack and the Tigers’ tenacious defence kept them at bay. In truth they never really came close to the try that would have teed up a grandstand finish. Leicester made the game safe with five minutes remaining when the replacement hooker Charlie Clare plunged over from close range and while Sam Stuart responded for the Falcons with a tap-and-go effort soon after, time had run out for Richards’s side.