This weekend three of those teams were in action again and the results eclipsed that weekend two years ago. England defeated Australia again, but this time the prize was not the Cook Cup, but the World Cup. And then on Sunday the Falcons secured their first Premiership away win of the season, in style. And left the small band of travelling supporters singing in the rain.

You know what happened on Saturday - not least because you have seen the endless repeats of that moment when Jonny kicked the perfect drop goal in Sydney to secure the World Cup for England. What you may not know about is what happened on Sunday in Reading.

The other big game of the weekend

'The Fields of Athenry' blasts around the Madjeski Stadium, Reading, to welcome and encourage London Irish. However it was the voices of the small band of travelling supporters that could be heard for most of the match in a rain-drenched stadium. They had plenty to sing about.

Dave Walder emulated Jonny Wilkinson with a dramatic injury time drop goal to secure a well deserved victory for a Falcons team that played attractive, running rugby in conditions that would have had ducks running for cover.

Having left a frosty but brightening North East, and enjoyed en-route a video re-run of the England victory the day before, the Falcons travelling supporters arrived in an dreary and wet Madjeski Stadium to see if Newcastle could secure their first away win in the Premiership this season and also break a run of defeats by London Irish.

Normally optimistic, I admit that I had my doubts that Newcastle Falcons could deliver a win.

Although the previous twelve matches between the two sides had been evenly shared, the Irish had won their last three fixtures against Newcastle. Last season they beat the Falcons three times, twice in the Premiership and once in the Cup.

Going into this game, the Exiles had won all three of their home matches this season and had posted victories in five of their last six matches. In contrast, the Falcons had lost all four of their away matches in the Premiership, although they had secured losing bonus points in two of those games. At home the Falcons have secured four wins, including the only victory over Bath by any team in any competition thus far this season.

The last time the Falcons visited Reading they failed to score a single point, going down 20-0 and were plunged into the relegation abyss. However the Exiles coach, Gary Gold, was cautioning his team against complacency:

"Newcastle are in point-scoring form, having racked up almost 100 points in their last two games - and that was without Jonny Wilkinson," said Gold. "They have powerful runners in both backs and forwards as we learned to our cost last season. Our defence will have to be at it's best once again if we are to keep them at bay."

There may have been some mind games at work here since those last two games were against Rotherham Titans, a team presenting less of a challenge than the Exiles.

Blades takes charge

In the absence of Rob Andrew, Andrew Blades took charge again and announced a few team changes. Stuart Grimes returned from World Cup duties to partner Garath Acher in the second row, with Captain Hugh Vyvyan returning to the Number 8 slot. Warren Britz also returned following his illness last weekend. With Jonny otherwise engaged on the other side of the world, Dave Walder got another chance to demonstrate that he has much to offer the Falcons. The selection decision causing most concern to Falcons supporters was that of Epi Taione: although highly regarded by supporters from other clubs, there is a growing viewpoint amongst Falcons supporters that Epi does not belong at flanker, or in a starting line-up, but rather should be used as a winger and as an impact player late in a game.

Forward Power

Noticeably, there were five forwards on the bench. Prior to the game, Andrew Blades had said; 'London Irish are a big physical side and they will be a challenge for us which is why we have 5 forwards on our bench this weekend in preparation for this tough match. We need to perform well up front to give us a platform to play the way we want to play. We've trained well this week and the team are certainly looking forward to the match.'

In contrast, London Irish coach Gary Gold had made one change only to his starting line-up - former Springbok hooker Naka Drotske retuns to the starting XV. On the bench Nick Greenstock and former England fly-half Mark Mapletoft were making a return from injury.

The expectation was that the Falcons would rely on driving mauls and ten-man rugby to grind a victory. Most teams faced by the weather conditions would have done so.

All expectations were confounded from the kick-off.

A feast of running rugby

The Falcons began this game like a sprinter out of the blocks and did not let up, switching play from side to side with deft interchanges of passes between backs and forwards that had the Exiles slipping and scrambling to stay in contention. This was a feast of running rugby on a pitch that had pools of water following 48 hours of continuous rain and in the face of a steady downpour. In fact the first chance that either side had to take a breather did not come until seventeen minutes had elapsed, when there was a pause whilst Phil Murphy recovered from a crunching tackle by Epi Taione. By this time, the Falcons were leading by ten points.

The Newcastle Falcons coach, Andrew Blades, had told his team to attack early while the ball and the shirts were relatively dry. Attack they did, and the first score came after only five minutes. The Falcons kicked deep to immediately put the Exiles under pressure. From a five-metre scrum the ball was spun out to Walder, who linked with Mark Mayerhofler then took the return pass before feeding the ball to Jamie Noon to run in and touch down between the posts. Walder then stepped up to convert the try and the Falcons had the lead 7-0.

From the restart the Falcons were back on the attack with Walder making a break and feeding Tom May who took the ball up to the Exiles 22 metre line before losing his footing in the slippery conditions. From a penalty, the Exiles kicked for touch, then from the resultant line-out kicked the ball up-field. To the amazement of the Falcons supporters, Taione took the ball and kicked it all the way back deep into the Exiles 22 metre area.

For the next five minutes the Falcons were attacking everywhere. Hall Charlton and Dave Walder were looking sharp and passing with confidence. Then the pack took over with a rolling maul that drove up-field for twenty metres before coming to a halt with an infringement by the Exiles. Although 40 metres out, Walder elected to kick for goal and, despite slipping in the execution of the kick, delivered the ball between the posts to give the Falcons a 10-0 lead.

A break by London Irish was only stopped by a superb tackle by Taione. The man was delivering one of his best all-round performances for many a month. Shortly afterwards he put in a crunching tackle on Phil Murphy that resulted in the latter receiving treatment and all the players taking the opportunity to recover their breath.

The Falcons continued to delight their supporters, and attract the respect of the home supporters, with wonderful interchanges of passes between backs and forwards, neat kicks behind the Exiles defensive line and switches of direction that kept the ball flowing. Walder attempted two drop-goals without success.

It was particularly pleasing to see the Falcons players' support for each other. This was demonstrated just after the half-hour when, in attempting to clear the ball under pressure, Walder delivered a 'hospital pass' to May, but immediately made amends by getting behind his team-mate to secure the ball, backed up by a posse of Falcons players who came charging across the pitch, resulting in a dangerous moment being turned into an attacking move.

Finally, and against the run of play, the Exiles got points. The Falcons were caught offside and Everitt successfully kicked for goal from forty-five metres out. This gave the Exiles renewed confidence and there followed ten minutes when they put the Falcons under pressure. Their reward came when Archer charged into a London Irish player who was not in possession of the ball. After consultation between the referee and the touch judge, Archer stayed on the pitch but the Falcons conceded another three points to the boot of Everitt.

Half time lead for Falcons

At the half-way point the Falcons led 10-6, but deserved to be further ahead.

Shortly after the restart, the Falcons were back on the attack, with both Charlton, a thorn in the side of the Exiles all afternoon, and Walder making breaks, only to lose the ball in the very slippery conditions. The Exiles defence was constantly encroaching over the off-side line and eventually they were penalised for this allowing Walder to kick a goal from 22 metres out, to give the Falcons a lead of 13-6.

Two strange decisions then followed that turned the game. Firstly the Falcons were penalised for a knock-on when the Exiles were clearly in possession of the ball, then the Falcons were penalised although the Exiles had failed to release the ball after a tackle. The second decision resulted in another penalty goal for Everitt. Less than two minutes later, the Exiles had another three points when the Falcons were adjudged to have deliberately knocked the ball down when under pressure from a rare Exiles attack. Everitt's penalty from in front of the posts meant that the Falcons' lead had been whittled down from 13-6 to 13-12 in less than ten minutes. The tide seemed to be turning.

The Exiles managed to squander an attacking opportunity when scrum-half Darren Edwards chose to go it alone even though he had two players unmarked to his right.

Both sides continued to exchange kicks and charges until, with less than ten minutes to go, the Exiles secured a line out on the Falcons 22 metre line, the ball was fed back to Everitt and he kicked a drop goal to give the Exiles the lead for the first time in the match.

The home crowd at last found its voice, but the travelling supporters were not ready to give up without a fight, and neither were the players.

The Falcons were pressurising the Exiles with kicks that forced them to turn and scramble the ball into touch. Finally, with three minutes of normal time left, the Falcons gained a lineout on the Exiles goal line, the defending side infringed by barging through, and Walder coolly slotted the ball between the posts to restore the lead 16-15.

From the restart the ball went straight into touch, giving the Falcons a scrum on the half-way line, from which the ball was fed to Walder who kicked deep into Exiles territory, to keep them pinned down in defence. As the game entered injury time, the Falcons kept play in the Exiles 22 metre area and eventually Walder was given the opportunity to emulate Wilkinson. The ball was fed back to him and he kicked a perfect drop goal from 30 metres out, giving the Falcons a well-deserved 19-15 victory.

Character

This was a game in which the Falcons won lots of plaudits for their adventurous running rugby, and for their character when they lost the lead with less than ten minutes to go yet came back to secure their first away win in the Premiership this season.

And it was a game in which many players stood up to be counted. Mayerhoffler, May, Peel, Archer and Grimes were superb in defence and attack. Thompson's line-out throws were perfect.

Something special

But special mention must go to three players, two of whom have come in for criticism lately. Hall Carlton was darting everywhere at the base of scrums and mauls, a constant problem for the Exiles defence, he delivered quick, accurate passes despite the conditions, and above all he harried the Exiles scrum half so much that the Exiles backs received very little decent ball all afternoon. Dave Walder backed Charlton up in every attack and in addition kicked fourteen points, including a beautiful drop goal that confirmed the victory. And Epi Taione had his best game for a long time - crunching tackles, charging runs from which the ball was released to set up attacks, long passes, and some deep kicks that turned defence into attack.

The future is bright?

The season will take on a new flavour with the return of many internationals, including Jonny Wilkinson. The Falcons have fared better than many during the opening months of the season, relying heavily on youngsters as much as on the experienced overseas players, and on the evidence of this performance are a side ready to challenge for honours, if not this season, then certainly next year.

What a wonderful world this is!

The scorers Newcastle Falcons

Tries: Jamie Noon
Conv: Dave Walder
Pen: Dave Walder (3)
DG: Dave Walder

London Irish

Pen: Everitt (4)
DG: Everitt

Starting Line Ups

Newcastle Falcons

1. Ian Peel, 2. Matt Thompson, 3. Micky Ward, 4. Garath Archer, 5. Stuart Grimes, 6. Epi Taione, 7. Warren Britz, 8. Hugh Vyvyan (Capt.), 9. Hall Charlton, 10. Dave Walder, 11. Michael Stephenson, 12. Mark Mayerhofler, 13. Jamie Noon, 14. Tom May, 15. Ben Gollings

Replacements

16. Dave Wilson, 17. Nick Makin, 18. Marius Hurter, 19. Jon Dunbar, 20. Phil Dowson, 21. James Grindal, 22. Phil Godman

London Irish

1. Neal Hatley (Capt.), 2. Naka Drotské, 3. Pierre Durant, 4. Nick Kennedy, 5. Bob Casey, 6. Declan Danaher, 7. Kieron Dawson, 8. Phil Murphy, 9. Darren Edwards, 10. Barry Everitt, 11. Justin Bishop, 12. Rob Hoadley, 13. Geoff Appleford, 14. Paul Sackey, 15. Michael Horak

Replacements

16. Doug Wheatley, 17. Adrian Flavin, 18. Kevin Burke, 19. Paul Gustard, 20. Nick Greenstock, 22. Kevin Barrett, 22. Mark Mapletoft

Referee: David Rose

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