Imagine the heightened interest in this fixture had the outcome properly mattered. The Premiership’s bottom two sides scrapping for survival, the losers set to face an end-of-season playoff against the ambitious champions of the Championship? Let’s just say the largely flat atmosphere around the stadium would have been significantly enhanced.
The attendance of less than 10,000 would also have been boosted, the pre-game media buildup seriously intense. Instead, with only bruised pride at stake, the lack of real jeopardy was impossible to ignore. Unless, that is, you are responsible for unearthing fresh investment to keep Newcastle Falcons in business, in which case the loudly ticking clock drowns out all else.
