A long way to go but it was magnificent…..

….. not just the result but the Craic in the south stand bar!

There was speculation about the number of usual suspects travelling north for this must win fixture, would there be more than the 18 that came up to the last match? Yes there would, a rough head count made it approx 24 with a few new faces!

Newcastle welcomed us with warm and sunny weather, and having met up in the Twin Farms Pub for lunch (I am sure that pub has moved nearer the metro station?) we proceeded to the ground.

Very very impressive, the new stadium, while not complete, looks as though it is going to be magnificent, a real credit to the club.

Having purchased our tickets we went into the south stand "cow shed" (I think I may have upset one of the club officials when he asked me what I thought of the new facilities, and I said that it was the poshest cow shed I had ever been in!) which was fantastic with good acoustics, and the ability to buy an AG at pub prices and a hot roast pork roll – magnificent!

The icing on the cake was the Irish band that were playing – a 7 piece group who were very good and created a great atmosphere.

We met many of the local "usual suspects" who made us feel very welcome.

Irish came out with a must win attitude that was hard hitting and uncompromising, they had a simple mission to stop the Falcons from getting the ball and spoil & punish any clever play.

While this may have not been the most attractive rugby, it was effective and gradually wore down the opposition.

Barry soon had us 6-0 up and showed all the signs of having the confidence with the boot back, only for Noon to nip in with a try just inside the corner flag. The conversion followed by two penalties from Johnny Wilkinson put Falcons ahead 13-6. Barry promptly replied with a penalty & a glorious dropped goal to make the half time score 13-12 to Falcons.

Newcastle’s play deteriorated with the sustained & confident pressure applied by Irish’s defence. This resulted in most of the half being played in the Newcastle half with only one foray into the Irish 22 and that was 25 minutes into the half!

Even under pressure Irish showed a tremendous improvement in their discipline, and conceded fewer penalties than they would have done in the not too distant past.

Barry's confidence with the boot grew throughout the game and this resulted in a repeat performance of the first half with three penalties and a drop goal, while in reply Newcastle only managed to score one of the two penalties awarded to them.

The final score was Newcastle 16 London Irish 24

The Craic continued in mighty fashion the "Charolais Shed" as Pete Sake had now christened the posh cowshed, with only a brief time out to congratulate the team as they got on the coach to head to the station and home.

At the Press conference Conor said "We are in a deep hole and its going to take a lot of digging to get out, but this is the first shovel-full". A sentiment shared by many of us I believe.

SCORERS: Newcastle: Try: Noon Conversion: Wilkinson. Penalty goals: Wilkinson 3. London Irish: Penalty goals: Everitt 6. Dropped goal: Everitt 2

SCORING SEQUENCE (Newcastle first): 0-3, 0-6, 7-6, 10-6, 13-6, 13-9, 13-12 (half-time), 13-15, 16-15, 16-18, 16-21, 16-24.

NEWCASTLE: J Noon; E Taione, T May, J Wilkinson, M Stephenson; P Godman (rep: L Botham, 55min), H Charlton (rep: J Grindal, 32); I Peel (rep: M Ward, 41), S Brotherstone (rep: N Makin, 49), M Hurter (rep: Peel, 66), C Hamilton, S Grimes, J Dunbar, R Arnold (rep: R Devonshire, 29-34), H Vyvyan.

LONDON IRISH: M Horak; P Sackey, N Burrows, B Venter, J Bishop; B Everitt, D Edwards; M Worsley (rep: N Hatley, 45min), A Drotske, S Halford, R Strudwick, N Kennedy, P Gustard, K Dawson, C Sheasby.

Referee: R Goodliffe