Wasps 10-14 Newcastle

Newcastle battled to the end, beating Wasps 14-10 away from home, but came up some way short of the four tries needed to stay up.

It took until nearly half-time for anyone to trouble the scoreboard at all and, although Newcastle scored two second-half tries to come from behind and win, they never looked likely to record their first try bonus point of the season and escape the drop. There was no lack of effort or commitment in the first half at Adams Park but the opening 35 minutes of scoreless rugby contained all the evidence needed to show why these two clubs have found themselves embroiled in a relegation battle all season. Fly-half Nicky Robinson edged Wasps ahead as the half was drawing to a close though and moments later the home side's electric back three burst into action to give them some much-needed confidence and a 10-0 lead at the break. It is no secret that this Falcons team struggle more when the game breaks up and Richard Haughton exposed their frailties by running the ball from full-back and beating a host of defenders before offloading to Robinson, who fed Christian Wade to coast over in the corner. A yellow card for Wasps prop Ben Broster and a subsequent try from Newcastle centre James Fitzpatrick 15 minutes into the second half after good work from Peter Stringer did give the visitors some faint hope. But, despite creating a few more opportunities with the sheer desperation of their play, they never really looked capable of scoring the four tries necessary to secure their Premiership survival. They did, however, win the match with a late try from Stringer, who sniped from the base of a ruck to touch down from just a metre out. It wasn't enough to keep the men from the North East in the top flight though as they finish bottom of the Premiership and slip down to the Championship by a solitary point.