Diprose delivers relief to Quins

Harlequins 47 Newcastle 23

Remarkably, given their proximity to Heathrow Airport, no one among the near 8,000 crowd at The Stoop spotted a squadron of pigs flying in. There must have been one because Harlequins not only won a match, they also picked up a bonus point after running in half a dozen tries.

The only real problem Quins had was clearing the pitch of delighted fans so a women's match scheduled to follow could start.

But while this handsome victory lifts the Londoners clear of the bottom of the Premiership table, problems persist for Newcastle. They are still suffering from travel sickness. And if it becomes a chronic condition then they will struggle for survival.

They got off to an appalling start, conceding the softest of tries after just 40 seconds. David Slemen's intended cross-kick was gathered by Newcastle's left wing Steve Jones, but the nervous Falcons debutant was smothered by marauding Quins before he could do anything. Although Newcastle won the resultant ruck, scrum-half Hall Charlton's wild pass to Tom May in the in-goal area, went over the centre's head and Pat Sanderson pounced.

If anything served as a taste of the way things were going to run – against Newcastle – that try was it. The Falcons fell foul of referee Steve Leyshon far too often, and even if some of the decisions were puzzling, Quins still looked sharper and appeared to have more of an idea of what to do with the ball when it was in their possession, which was frequently. They just lacked the finishing touch and before they finally got their second try they could and should have had two or three others. One pass went to ground, another went too high, a cross kick missed everyone, it was a chapter of accidents.

In this early spell all Newcastle had managed was a couple of penalties by Jonny Wilkinson. It took Quins fully half an hour to assert themselves properly and profitably in the one aspect of the match where they were the absolute masters – the driving maul.

Tony Diprose picked up at the base of a scrum and the patchwork quilt of the Quins support wrapped up man and ball and steamed towards the line and by the time the ball re-emerged it was in prop Laurent Gomez's hands being thumped emphatically into the turf for a second try.

What with a couple of penalties from Slemen, the home side were looking comfortable. But just as Quins had opened their try-scoring account with a sucker punch at the start of the first half, so Newcastle countered with one of their own at the beginning of the second half.

With Quins still organising themselves after conceding a penalty, which also cost them the services of Ace Tiatia, Jonny Wilkinson darted over from some 15 metres.

But the home team reverted to the maul once more and the jubilant Diprose emerged after the successful manoeuvre that restored the lead. The all-important fourth try was the result of some particularly poor cover which saw Will Greenwood weave through the Falcons like a drinker crossing a disco dance floor.

And from the restart Ben Gollings gathered himself and exploded down the left wing, before slipping an inside pass to Nick Duncombe who had a clear run-in. Nathan Williams converted both.

Jamie Noon latched on to Wilkinson's hanging kick for a second Falcons try but too late to pose any problems for Quins and Tani Fuga's injury time score underlined the home team's supremacy and promised much for the rest of the season.

Harlequins: N Williams; M Moore, W Greenwood (N Greenstock, 50-55), V Satala (R Jewell, 80), B Gollings; D Slemen (Greenstock, 70), N Duncombe (S Bemand, 80); J Leonard (capt), T Fuga, L Gomez (B Starr, 53), B Davison (K Rudzki, 71), A Codling (J Evans, 66), A Tiatia (L Sherriff, 75), A Diprose, P Sanderson.

Newcastle: L Botham (J Grindal, 68); J Noon, T May, M Wilkinson, S Jones (P Godman, 49); J Wilkinson (capt), H Charlton; M Ward, S Brotherstone (M Thompson, 53), M Hurter (J Isaacson, h-t), C Hamilton (H Vyvyan, h-t), S Grimes, J Dunbar (S Otuvaka, 78), R Arnold (P Dowson, 68), R Devonshire.

Referee: S Leyshon (Bristol).