Falcons stagger to safety

Banahan: First-half try

Newcastle secured Aviva Premiership survival despite slumping to a 42-12 defeat to Bath at the Recreation Ground.

The hosts did all they could to keep their slim hopes of a play-off place alive, but Northampton's win against Leeds meant they had to settle for fifth.

The Saints' victory also allowed the Falcons to retain their status in the top-flight, with the Newcastle players able to celebrate escaping relegation on points difference.

Danny Grewcock took the field for his last match in front of his home fans and the retiring lock quickly got down to business in the line-outs and scrums.

Newcastle made a bright start but were stopped in their tracks when Andrew van der Heijden knocked on, handing Bath the initiative.

Bath capitalised to take the lead when Nick Abendanon made a dangerous break before former Bath player James Hudson killed the ruck, allowing Butch James to send over a penalty.

Tries

The first try came courtesy of Bath full-back Sam Vesty, who crossed unopposed on 11 minutes after the visitors' defence had been stretched beyond breaking point.

The hosts continued to pile on the pressure but passed up at least three more chances due to interceptions or forward passes.

But they extended their lead when Ignacio Fernandez-Lobbe powered over the try-line following more good play from Vesty.

James was off target with the conversion but made no mistake when Tom Biggs broke through down the right and Carraro strolled over from the ruck to stretch Bath's lead to 22-0.

Bath had secured the four-try bonus point before half time as Newcastle were again short of defenders close to the breakdown and Michael Claassens sent Matt Banahan through to score.

The Falcons were 29-0 down at the start of the second half but their spirits were raised when Alex Tait grabbed an opportunistic score. Gopperth missed a simple conversion, though, and a James penalty at the other end made it 32-5.

Farewells

Bath skipper Luke Watson was brought on for his last game before returning to South Africa, but the visitors scored another try when Luke Fielden crossed after a fine kick from Jeremy Manning.

The conversion was also added by Manning, who had switched to fly-half when Gopperth was taken off.

With the bonus-point win beyond doubt, the home side lost a lot of impetus and had a Lee Mears try disallowed for not releasing after the tackle.

James did add another three points on 66 minutes as the game petered out after a raft of replacements.

Among those taken off was James, who was another player competing in Bath colours for the final time.

However, there was still time for replacement wing Jacques Boussuge to race down the left before scoring under the posts, with Vesty adding the conversion to complete the scoring.