Both sides scored three tries but Dave Walder's boot secured Wasps' fifth successive victory at Kingston Park and we had to make do with a bonus point and a league finish of ninth place.

If Tuesday's announcement of Alan Tait's promotion to manager was meant to galvanise the home fans into a big turnout for the final match of 2009/10, it was not overly successful with 6,412 officially in the crowd. However captain Carl Hayman was back in the side and packed down with Micky Ward, the heroes of Sale Grant Shiells and Kieran Brookes starting on the bench.

Mr Kelly Brook (Danny Cipriani) also made his last start for Wasps at full-back.

Jimmy Gopperth repeated his trick from Sale after just a couple of minutes, breaking through the Wasps defence to put us ahead with an early try, converted by the fly-half. The Falcons' first half play was quite delightful at times, with some incisive running and quick passing, rounded off by Tim Swinson beating Paul Sackey on the outside.

Wasps came back into the game though and from a lengthy attack Rob Webber just about made it to the line near the posts, although it was only after a pile of bodies landed on top of him that the touch judge gave the try. Former Falcon Walder converted.

Walder followed that with a penalty but the Falcons kept fighting towards the break, going in 7-10 down.

Reinforced by Grant Shiells and Will Welch at the interval, the Falcons soon brought on Hall Charlton for Micky Young, a surprising decision as I feel Young has started to come back into form recently. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss? I hope not.

From a break Rob Vickerman found himself free 25 metres out on the Wasps right and with all of KP screaming for him to leg it to the line, the centre inexplicably stalled and looked to pass, and the chance passed.

We did manage to retake the lead though with a try by Shiells out on the right, as our young Scottish prop found himself free as the last man out on the wing. Gopperth's conversion swung just over the bar.

However, just minutes later, with the South Stand almost out of beer and Wasps down to 14 after Webber's sin-binning, Dan Ward-Smith went over on the far left for Wasps. Walder couldn't convert, leaving the visitors with a one-point advantage.

With Mark Sorenson now on the field, receiving a quite incredible but completely deserved ovation from the crowd in his final match in a black shirt, the Falcons looked to the set-piece to get back into the game but Sackey showed the pace that seemed to have gone missing in the first half to race in from halfway and seal Wasps' win.

Walder's conversion took us out of bonus point territory, and a second penalty really ended any likelihood of us ending the season with a victory.

Hayman left the field with a couple of minutes to go, and his replacement Kieran Brookes got the crowd going in the final minute with a barnstorming run through two defenders. The ball found its way to Swinson who scored with the final play of the season at KP, and another replacement Tom Catterick dropped over the conversion.

Despite the defeat, the mood after the match seemed quite positive. This was Alan Tait's first match in charge and it was certainly encouraging, with some nice attacking and effective rugby rewarded with three scores at the end of a season in which we have found tries very hard to come by. Our much-praised defence seems to have become less consistent in recent months though.

It remains to be seen whether this style of play will continue next season, especially in the winter months, and we still need to see which new signings will be made although we are told Alistair Hogg has joined. That's a good start but more is needed.

Tait will know that the hard work really starts now if he is to have a league position worth celebrating this time next year.

See you all in August.

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