Bad Goode is a Pain in the Neck for Wilko

Andy Goode's stated preference in a local sports supplement for Charlie Hodgson over Jonny Wilkinson as England's number-one fly-half came back to haunt him here when he launched a head-high tackle that could have put the Newcastle player out of Saturday's game against Wales. Goode, a bad boy two weeks in a row after a similar tackle on Brian O'Driscoll last week, had the good grace to say sorry to Wilkinson on his way to the sin bin in the closing stages of a one-sided game. But it was a daft tackle. 'I don't know the player's character,' Newcastle coach John Fletcher said. 'I don't know if it was intentional or not. But Jonny's a tough lad.'

Wilkinson was just fine, as it turned out. Jamie Noon less so, as he too took a tumble in the resultant fisticuffs. Leicester continued untroubled towards the end of a routine outing, a strangely soulless affair, despite the clinical nature of their rugby and the brief outbreak of passions in the second half.

Thereafter, though, with half an hour of scheduled time left and seven minutes added on, there was no score at all. It was a Leicester shutout, and an indictment of Newcastle's impotence. Wilkinson, with pressure on him from Danny Cipriani and Shane Geraghty, was workmanlike - no more than that - in a well-beaten Falcons side.

Both teams returned to the Guinness fray refreshed: Mauger, Chuter, Kay, Moody and Corry for the Tigers; Hayman, Golding, Long, Perry, May, Rudd, and Grindal for the Falcons - and, of course, little Jonny.

Corry, retired from international duties but still inspired to achieve things at Leicester, made his presence felt in the third minute. The Newcastle No 8, Russell Winter, lurking on the edge of a fractured ruck just outside their 22, did not get quite close enough to the big pumping legs of the captain, who made a rare foray over the tryline.

Leicester cut Newcastle to ribbons for the second, down the right this time, Jordan Crane moving smoothly on to Tom Varndell's pass to leave the isolated Mathew Tait backpedalling in vain as the big man swerved inside.

Goode missed a drop goal horribly, but eventually got his range right and Leicester led 27-9 at half time. Wilkinson kept the visitors vaguely in touch with three crisply struck penalties, the third taking him past 2,000 points for the club he seems determined not to abandon, whatever their shortcomings.

Three minutes into the second half, Toby Flood chipped through, and, intentionally or not, Goode tripped him up in full flight. The center remonstrated angrily with the distracted linesman before rejoining the action - and was on hand to pick up the final pass and cross untouched. To round out this weird passage of play, Wilkinson missed the sideline conversion.

But it was a fleeting counter. Johne Murphy put Leicester further ahead, crashing over in the left corner. With a fourth try and a bonus point, they had closed by one the five-point gap between them and Gloucester.

The Tigers were comfortably in control at the end. They mauled them up front, teased them out wide then shoved their pack back over their line, Marcos Ayerza emerging with the ball. It was reminiscent of the humiliating hiding Leicester handed out to them here three years ago, if not on the same grand scale.

When Goode put in that high tackle on Wilkinson just past the hour most of the 30 players on the field went in for some ritual shirt-pulling. There was no lack of commitment - just not enough quality rugby.

Newcastle had plenty of ball in the final 10 minutes to make at least a token reply - especially against 14 men - but Leicester held their nerve and the line admirably to round out a routine minor thrashing.

Welford Road 17,498

Leicester G Murphy (Humphreys 70); J Murphy, Rabeni, Mauger (Smith 48), Varndell; Goode, F Murphy; Ayerza, Chuter (Kayser 76), Castrogiovanni (Young 76), L Deacon, Kay (Wentzel 78), Corry (capt), Moody, Crane

Tries Corry, Crane, J Murphy, Ayerza Cons Goode 3

Pens Goode 4 Drop goal Goode

Newcastle Tait (Phillips 67); May, Noon (capt), Flood, Rudd (Visser 67); Wilkinson, Grindal (Dickson 48); Golding (Ward 50), Long (Thompson 47), Hayman, Perry, Sorenson, Wilson (Parling 47), Woods, Winter (Dowson 28)

Try Flood Pens Wilkinson 3

Referee S Davey