Jonny treble leaves Saints on the brink

A result achieved largely through the combined efforts of England's dual fly halves, Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood, lifted a fog of uncertainty hanging over the Tyne.

It also confirmed that the second best-supported club in Britain are still bang on course for relegation, a fate perhaps more shocking than the perverse nature of their defiant run to within one match of the European Cup final at Twickenham.

Even if they work another miracle of Biarritz proportion and get there at Wasps' expense in the semi-final on Sunday week, a full house at HQ on May 20 may give them a spectacular departure to a season in the First Division alongside Sedgley Park, Newbury and Esher. Northampton are not doomed yet but if they contrive to produce much more of this, they soon will be.

Their condition, serious before kick-off, was critical last night and deteriorating rapidly, to the point where their fate had slipped out of their hands.

Now they have only two matches left in which to save themselves, starting at Wasps next Sunday in a dress- rehearsal of their Heineken Cup semi-final at Coventry the following week.

It is quite possible that Carlos Spencer and his increasingly desperate team will have been sent there, figuratively speaking in Premiership terms, next weekend. No points at Wasps and a win for Worcester at London Irish would leave the 2000 champions of Europe high and dry, reducing their closing home match against London Irish on April 28 to the status of a wake.

How, their fans and everybody else's will ask, did they get themselves into such a mess?

"Because the chairman, coaches and management have failed dismally," said Keith Barwell, the club's colourful chairman and creator of the blooming new Franklin's Gardens, before the match.

"Our supporters have reason to be angry."

What he thought about it afterwards, he kept to himself. Newcastle, dragged down to an unusual level of mediocrity by their own apprehension, were poor enough for long enough but lived to tell the tale.

In the process, Northampton did nothing to contradict the perennial cliche about being too good to go down.

Paul Grayson, a young player when the club last went down 12 years ago, knew that a chance of salvation had come and gone, perhaps for good.

The former England fly half has a lot of credit in his Saints account, not least for the three penalties behind the trumping of Munster to win the European Cup.

But, as head coach, he knows the score.

"We are in a position where people have to be accountable," he said. "It's not just one thing which has got us where we are. Players will hold their hands high, as will the coaches, but this is not the time for beating ourselves up.

"If we do end up going down, we would be foolish to lose the core of the squad. This was a golden opportunity to pile the pressure on Worcester but we were playing a team who were fighting for their lives.

"We are reliant on other people now but it's not over yet."

Relegation battles can always be relied upon to kick a team when they are down and Northampton were never more aware of that than in the 17th minute.

Robbie Kydd, turning away from support on the outside, stepped inside to be crunched by Newcastle's Australian full back Matthew Burke - a tackle which left the Scottish-qualified New Zealander's nose "splattered all over his face".

Flood, often doubling up alongside Wilkinson as an auxiliary stand off, had by then tip-toed over for an early try to reward his forwards for the Mark Sorenson-driven maul.

Wilkinson, with a horizontal Flood holding the ball for him against the blustery wind, followed his conversion with two rapid penalties.

As Newcastle's game began to subside despite a 13-point cushion, it took Northampton an inordinately long time to realise that they might not have much to beat after all.

When the penny finally dropped, French veteran Christian Labit claimed his first English try at the age of 36 and Spencer's conversion at least offered the prospect of a losing bonus point.

Wilkinson's third penalty put paid to even that small mercy and Saints' last hope went with the wind when Spencer chose to kick for the corner rather than risk a penalty against the breeze from no more than 40 yard.

His pack almost lost the line-out throw and moments later a collapsed scrum cost them their last hope of a point.

It may well turn out to have been their last hope of beating the drop.

NEWCASTLE: M Burke (capt); May, Tait (Rudd 35min), Noon, Flood; Wilkinson, Dickson (Grindall 67); McDonnell (Ward 78), Thompson (Long 67), Ward (Golding 58); Sorenson, Buist; Parling, Wilson (Dowson 58), Woods.

NORTHAMPTON: Diggin; Lamont, Reihana (capt), Kydd (Myler 20; Going 58), Cohen; Spencer, Robinson; Smith (Budgen 78), Hartley (Cortese 67), Budgen (Brooks 50); Gerard (Browne 67), Short; Tupai, Labit, Fox (Hopley 74).

Referee: Chris White.