Gold hails "amazing" character

Newcastle boss Gary Gold was full of praise for his side after they boosted their survival hopes with a 29-20 win at Gloucester.

Gloucester wiped out a 19-6 interval deficit to lead by a point with nine minutes left, only for back-row forward Mark Wilson to score the winning try. Ally Hogg scored the other try for Newcastle, while skipper Jimmy Gopperth kicked 19 points to dent Gloucester's Heineken Cup aspirations. "From a game-management point of view, we were very good in the first half. We pretty much stuck to plan perfectly, really. We lost our way a little bit in the second half, and if truth be told we got a little bit lucky with our last try, but the character of the players was amazing," said Gold. "This is a good bunch of rugby players who are really committed to keeping Premiership rugby in the North East." The victory moved the bottom side to within four points of London Wasps, who lost 33-17 at Harlequins, with two games to play. The Falcons face champions Saracens before taking on fellow strugglers Wasps in a potential relegation decider. Should Newcastle finish bottom, their survival hopes will rest on whether or not this season's Championship winners meet Premiership entry criteria.