Wilkinson Steals Points for Newcastle With a Little Help From an Upright - and Stays Fit for France

Jonny Wilkinson may have been controversially withdrawn from the field a week earlier by Brian Ashton in Rome but as far as the North-east is concerned there is no substitute.

If the England head coach breathed a sigh of relief that Wilkinson and his international colleagues Toby Flood and Mathew Tait survived a physical encounter six days before his side plays in Paris, it was nothing to the explosion of joy a minute from time yesterday. With Newcastle one point adrift, their pack rumbled towards the Saracens 22 and the referee David Rose penalized the visitors' center Rodd Penney for handling in a ruck. Wilkinson kept his nerve - just - and his penalty kick ricocheted off an upright and between the posts.

Newcastle's victory at Vicarage Road seven weeks earlier had put Saracens' Premiership ambitions into reverse and, with the top two sides losing yesterday, this was an opportunity lost.

Saracens are challenging in three competitions but the sight of their points-machine Glen Jackson spluttering in the final minutes was worrying. The New Zealand fly-half twisted an ankle and Andy Farrell lasted only 20 minutes after damaging his ribs. With Farrell's center partner Kevin Sorrell also missing through injury, Saracens' resources behind the scrum are being stretched.

Flood has replaced Farrell in England's center and in the first half yesterday he was outstanding as Newcastle ran up a 10-point lead while playing some exhilarating rugby. In a period of sustained attacking the young Newcastle prop Jon Golding drove forward. He was halted but the Falcons recycled the ball and Flood squeezed over for a well-taken try.

Wilkinson, meanwhile, continued to make some thumping tackles, most notable on the colossal Samoan prop Census Johnston, as if Paris on Saturday night was the last thing on his mind. But after the break Saracens hauled themselves back into the game. Their pressure told and Jackson slipped a pass to Ben Skirving, who crashed over in the corner for a try. Indeed, Jackson put the visitors into the lead for the first time on the hour with a penalty, after Ben Woods had obstructed the Saracens captain Neil de Kock.That earned the young England flanker a yellow card but a 14-man Newcastle survived with Wilkinson and Jackson swapping penalties before the coup de grace.

Flood said: "It was heart-in-the-mouth time at the end but all credit to Jonny for keeping his nerve under that sort of pressure. Saracens are one of the best teams in the Premiership and that was a fantastic win for us. It was a bit of a dogfight and we had to defend really well, particularly in the second half and they must have had 60 to 70% of possession."

Flood then picked up his bag and joined his England colleagues on a flight last night to Bristol to rejoin his international team-mates in Bath. On the flight was Newcastle's England center Jamie Noon, who pulled out of yesterday's game. Noon had been unable to train with his club during the week after injuring a hamstring, but his coach John Fletcher insisted last night that he would be fit to face France.

Newcastle May; Phillips, Tait, Flood, Rudd (Visser, 75); Wilkinson, Dickson (Grindal, 68); Golding(D Wilson, 62), Long (Thompson, 62), Hayman, Perry, Buist, Parling (B Wilson, 71), Woods, Dowson (capt).

Try Flood. Con Wilkinson. Pens Wilkinson 3.

Sin-bin Woods, 59.

Saracens Haughton; Leonelli, Penney, Farrell (Powell, 20), Ratuvou; Jackson, De Kock (capt); Yates, Ongaro, Johnston, Jack, Vyvyan (Ryder, 65) Gustard, Seymour, Skirving (Chesney, 57).

Try Skirving. Pens Jackson 3.

Referee D Rose (Warwickshire).

Attendance 8,266.