Falcons head coach Alan Tait hailed his Kingston Park comeback kids, as Newcastle bounced back from the brink to humble a star-studded London Wasps side.

Tait’s men hauled themselves up off the ground at 17-3 down, smashing their way to a 29-17 Aviva Premiership Rugby victory.

The Scotsman joked afterwards: “I was nearly getting in the car and driving away at 14 points down after 20 minutes.

“But the positive side for me after that terrible start was the fact that we dug deep and fought back.

“I said to the boys at half time that I thought we looked 20 per cent fresher than them, and all those hard months of conditioning work paid off as the game went on. We gifted them 17 points, but we had more energy in the tank.”

Acknowledging the magnitude of his side’s comeback, he added: “For a team to fight back against Wasps, that was an outstanding achievement and they can all be proud of it. We’ve not cracked it though, there is plenty to work but for me that’s the exciting bit because I know how good this side can be.

“That awful start, I can only put it down to a bit of nerves really, because we’re much better than that.

“I don’t think this team quite knows what it can achieve and how good some of these players are, but to come back the way we did probably gives you some idea. It’s only one game though, there’s a load more to go and we’re not getting too carried away by one result.

“It was a great effort from them all, and I said in the changing room after the game that they want to start believing in themselves a bit more. They’re playing as a unit now, but there’s a lot more in them.

“There’s some quality lads in there, and the two Bristol lads Luke Eves and Red Pennycook I thought were sensational. Luke ran some tough lines and fronted up, while Red has shown himself to be the genuine seven I thought he was when I signed him. He’s the quietest lad you’ll ever meet, you can’t get two words out of the lad but he does the business on the park.

“The whole back row to be fair were outstanding. Hoggy ran himself to a standstill and I think he was looking for that yellow card in the end so he could have a rest! No, but joking aside they were all magnificent, and from a selfish angle it’s my first league win as a Falcons coach.

“I want to be here for years and years to come so we can build this side, and I have a great team around me. The guys in the back room, the assistant coaches, video analyst, team manager, medics, conditioners, press, masseur, the lads in the commercial office, they’re great people and you can see everyone is enjoying being in this environment.”

Hailing the club’s support, Tait added: “The fans played a massive part, especially the South Stand at the end there when we were defending our own line.

“Maybe it’s the Friday night factor. I got a fair bit of stick for moving the games to Fridays for what I think are sound rugby reasons, but for a first showing it was pretty decent. I suppose time will tell if the Friday thing is a winner, but just for the fans I definitely have to say thanks to everyone who turned up and got behind the boys even when we were 14 points down.”

Revealing the post-match ritual which shocked a handful of new faces, Tait said: “Jimmy Gopperth’s war dance certainly caught a few of them by surprise!

“It’s something that Jimmy says one of the senior players when he was a lad in New Zealand used to do, and he wants to continue the tradition. Aye, but when the lads whipped their tops off and Jimmy started his war dance and Maori chants, you could see the new boys thinking ‘what the hell’s happening?’

“It’s just a bit of fun, but it bonds the lads together and that can only be good.”