Newcastle lost ground on the Premiership title challengers last night after narrowly failing to peg back London Irish.
Despite a downpour before the kick-off the Exiles started by moving the ball through hands with an easy fluency that would not have been out of place in spring sunshine.
Early on international flanker Eddie Halvey worked them into a scoring position with a bold chargedown that earned a line-out in the right corner. But Newcastle were too streetwise to be caught napping on the drive and minutes later they went ahead with a 35-metre penalty by Dave Walder.
The Irish pack displayed an impressive cutting edge in an abrasive series of exchanges that produced positive multiphase play in which Colin Allan and Richard Bates were prominent. Newcastle responded to the steady pressure with some basic rucking errors that inevitably gifted their hosts kickable penalties.
Barry Everitt, the Irish outhalf, was off target with his opening long-range effort but he succeeded with two subsequent kicks from 30 metres that put his side 6-3 in front.
Having paraded an Irish wolfhound plus an entertainer in a bearskin in their pre-match warm-up, the Exiles duly performed like instinctive predators whenever they rumbled into the Newcastle box and opened up a defensive gap.
With half an hour gone, the Newcastle pack was rolled backwards with embarrassing speed and when they deliberately collapsed the maul on their line referee Chris White had no hesitation in awarding the Irish a penalty try.
But the Exiles were warned for an illegal piece of midfield aggression soon afterwards, allowing Walder to land a towering penalty goal from near halfway which cut the half-time gap to 13-6.
The thin line between vigour and violence, though, did not in the least faze Newcastle who matched Irish physicality pound for pound without quite emulating their hosts' slick technique.
After the break few chances fell to the talented young Newcastle backs, who had to go in search of possession. Everitt restored Exiles' 10-point lead with a penalty from 30 metres and added a fourth from 40 metres within the hour.
However, Newcastle bounced back with a sparkling 67th minute try by substitute wing Gareth Maclure that Walder narrowly failed to convert. The Irish hung on for a merited win.
London Irish: Cunningham; Sackey, Oliver, Wright, Bishop; Everitt, Tonu'u (capt); Worsley, Alexopoulous, Halford, Fahrensohn, Delaney, Halvey, Allan, Bates.
Newcastle: Stephenson; Botham, Noon, May, Tuigamala; Walder, Charlton; Ward, Nesdale, Graham, Weir, Vyvyan, Arnold, Mower, Beattie.
Referee: C White (RFU).
