The 6,333 crowd witnessed a seven-try thriller, which was very much a game of two halves as Newcastle came back from 6-22 down at the halfway point to lead 27-22 with only minutes left, before Luke Narraway’s unconverted try ensured a share of the spoils, which satisfied Rob Andrew after a "terrible" first half.

Andrew was also full of praise for Mathew Tait, maker of his side’s first try (for Michael Stephenson) and scorer of the second, in his second game since being dumped by England in the wake of their Cardiff defeat.

Jamie Noon was still missing from the Newcastle side as he was with England in Dublin, whilst Stuart Grimes had played for Scotland on Saturday. However, Local Hero David Walder returned to full-back after injury, and Phil Dowson, Craig Hamilton and Andy Long were back in the pack. Dowson captained the side as Ian Peel was rested and joined on the bench by new Argentinean prop Galo Alvarez Quinones who, after seeing the half time blizzard at KP, must have wondered what on Earth he is doing up here!

Newcastle started well with a penalty from Walder, but after that rarely had a look-in during a poor first 40. On 21 minutes Andy Gomarsall took advantage of weak tackling to score on the right, and though Henry Paul failed to kick the extra points, he did convert Marcel Garvey’s try soon after. Walder pulled back a penalty but Paul’s drop goal cancelled it out, before Terry Fanolua pulled Gloucester clear with a converted try on half time. 6-22 down at the break, the Falcons had some serious work to do to avoid a second heavy defeat.

Andrew brought on Ian Peel and Joe Shaw after the interval to replace James Isaacson and Mark Wilkinson, with Walder moving to fly-half, and the difference was immediately noticeable as Newcastle turned the tables on Gloucester, pinning them back into their own half. However, the lack of a clinical finish looked like it would let the Geordies down.

It wasn’t until the hour that Tait’s chip allowed Stephenson to use his searing pace and touch down, and Walder’s conversion gave Newcastle a glimmer of hope. On 67 minutes, Tait himself took a pass from Mark Mayerhofler and set off on a great run to score a try of his own. Walder kicked the extra two points to leave the scoreline 20-22 in Gloucester’s favour.

Roared on by the home crowd, the Falcons drove forward looking for the win, and though Walder missed a penalty, it looked as though the four points would go north as Hall Charlton set up Mayerhofler’s try with only six minutes left. Walder converted to give his side a five-point advantage, and it looked like an eighth successive home win had been salvaged. However, as Gloucester rolled a maul towards the home line, Narraway crashed over to level the scores, but as Paul missed the touchline conversion, a draw looked likely.

Newcastle fans had their hearts in their mouths as Seti Kiole set off on a run and entered the 22 with only Joe Shaw standing between him and a winning try. But suddenly, out of nowhere, Charlton and Tom May found the legs to tackle the Gloucester wing and save a point for the Falcons, as the referee blew for full time.

All credit to the Falcons for lifting their performance greatly in the second half when the game seemed lost at the break, but yesterday showed the danger of prioritising matches - there was no guarantee that we would beat Gloucester, and so it proved.

Again though, the Falcons’ defence let them down in the first half, despite a solid performance from Mayerhofler, and Matt Burke’s absence was painfully rued again. However, good news on the injury front is that Jonny Wilkinson is expected to be fit enough for the bench at Harlequins in two weeks for Newcastle’s next match. After dropping two points yesterday, a victory over the relegation-threatened Londoners will be even more important if Newcastle are to qualify for the European Cup again.

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