Newcastle Falcons started their home campaign for 2009/10 with a victory over Magners League runners-up Edinburgh at Kingston Park on Friday night.

Even the late withdrawal of captain Carl Hayman with a neck injury could not dampen Newcastle spirits, as the silver-clad Falcons toughed it out with a physical defensive showing early on.

Stand-in skipper Adam Balding started with a huge midfield hit in a bruising encounter, as the Scotsmen gave their hosts a stern defensive test.

Centre Ben Cairns got the scoreboard rolling for Edinburgh as he crossed down the blindside from a short-range ruck, but a determined Falcons side kept plugging away as No.8 Peter Browne caused mayhem with a string of big carries and offloads.

An early arm injury saw centre Tane Tu’ipulotu’s evening cut short after just 15 minutes, but his replacement Rob Vickerman made his presence felt instantly as he took crash ball and blasted through his man to race under the posts.

Fly half Rob Miller converted from in front on a night when the Cumbrian kicked three from three in a man-of-the-match performance, while summer signing James Hudson pressured the Edinburgh line out and Springbok centre Gcobani put in a string of bone-crunching midfield hits.

Trailing by two points on the half hour, Edinburgh spurned a chance to take the lead when scrum half Greig Laidlaw misfired from a 30-metre penalty in front, the Falcons taking a 7-5 lead into the interval as lively replacement Tom Catterick narrowly failed to claw in a scoring pass in the right corner.

With Newcastle enjoying the better of territory and possession in a more cohesive second-half showing, their scoring started only two minutes into the half as Miller drilled home a penalty from 30 metres out in front of the uprights, No.8 Browne again making himself a menace with his destructive running.

Ten minutes later the hosts turned their pressure into further points as persistent phase play set up a ruck on the 22, from which scrum half Micky Young drew the defence before feeding in Miller on a superb straightening angle – the fly half racing unopposed to the try line before converting his own score.

Withdrawn just before the hour mark Miller’s replacement enjoyed an equally assured night, as South African Chris Micklewood probed the corners with a string of composed kicks in behind the defence.

Neither side troubled the scorers further in the closing quarter of the game, but there were positives for the Falcons as props Micky Ward, Jon Golding, Laurence Ovens and Grant Shiells all contributed to a robust scrummaging performance.

Bobo continued to administer his own brutal brand of justice with a barrage of midfield tackles, but despite enjoying the lion’s share of territory and possession the Falcons had to content themselves with a 12-point margin as the final whistle sounded.

Newcastle Falcons:

Tries: Vickerman, Miller
Cons: Miller 2
Pens: Miller

Edinburgh:

Tries: Cairns

Newcastle Falcons:

15 Alex Tait
14 Danny Williams (Tom Catterick, 25)
13 Gcobani Bobo
12 Tane Tu’ipulotu (Rob Vickerman, 15)
11 Tom Biggs
10 Rob Miller (Chris Micklewood, 57)
9 Micky Young (Hall Charlton, 60)

1 Jon Golding (Grant Shiells, 74)
2 Rob Vickers (Matt Thompson, 40)
3 Micky Ward (Laurence Ovens, 60)
4 James Hudson (Tim Swinson, 40)
5 Mark Sorenson
6 Adam Balding (captain, Ed Williamson, 50)
7 Brent Wilson
8 Peter Browne

Edinburgh:

15 Steve Jones
14 Andrew Turnbull
13 Ben Cairns
12 John Houston
11 Tim Visser
10 Rory Hutton
9 Greig Laidlaw

1 Allan Jacobsen
2 Andrew Kelly
3 Geoff Cross
4 Craig Hamilton
5 Scott MacLeod
6 Fraser McKenzie
7 Alan MacDonald
8 Allister Hogg (captain)

Replacements:

16 Sean Crombie
17 Kyle Traynor
18 Ryan Grant
19 Steve Turnbull
20 Roddy Grant
21 Chris Fusaro
22 Ross Samson
23 Andrew Easson
24 Mark Robertson
25 Davie Young

Referee: Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Attendance: 4,469