Newcastle coach Alan Tait hailed a "vital" win for his side after they triumphed 15-10 over London Wasps on Sunday.
Falcons boss hoping long overdue win will start a good run of results
Newcastle coach Alan Tait hailed a "vital" win for his side after they triumphed 15-10 over London Wasps at Kingston Park on Sunday.
The Falcons finally registered their first win over the Aviva Premiership season thanks to five penalties from fly-half Jimmy Gopperth.
The New Zealander's boot helped Newcastle end an 11-match losing run in league action, though the positive result was not enough to move them off the foot of the table.
For Tait the result might also allow him to sleep a little easier, with the former British and Irish Lion admitting he was nervous about his team's poor run.
"A win today was vital, I haven't slept much all week," he said.
"We're still in there, we're up to five points and hopefully we can talk about a run of wins now.
"I was very nervous, you think you have the game won and then you lose possession. You just can't imagine how I would have picked them up if we hadn't won today."
Wasps actually scored the only try of the contest, winger Christian Wade managing a fine solo effort after just six minutes.
However Gopperth kept the points coming for Newcastle, kicking three penalties in the first half to make it 9-7 at the break. He added a further six points after the break to see off the visitors.
Newcastle econd-rower Tim Swinson said: "It was fantastic just to win any game.
"Morale is really high, the best it has been for years."
