NEWCASTLE Falcons have appealed against a ten-week ban handed out to their Scotland lock Stuart Grimes, enabling him to play in tomorrow's Premiership match against Saracens at Kingston Park.

Unless he wins the appeal, which will be heard on Tuesday, Grimes will miss the final match at Bath next Saturday and be ruled out of Scotland's summer tour of South Africa.

The 49-times capped lock was sent off for allegedly butting an opponent in the Falcons' narrow defeat at Gloucester last month, when the home hooker Chris Fortey was also dismissed for stamping. He has been suspended for 12 weeks.

Victory tomorrow will almost certainly ensure Newcastle avoid relegation, with the picture likely to be clarified by Bristol's home match against Bath.

The Falcons slipped into fourth from bottom place, one point below Saracens, when the Sarries edged to a one-point win against Bristol in midweek, but tomorrow's visitors have had a tough time recently after playing Bath in the second leg of their Parker Pen Challenge Shield semi-final last weekend.

Victory for the Falcons will give them a chance of finishing eighth, which could put them into the play-offs for a wild card place for next season's Heineken Cup.

Grimes would miss that if his ban stands, but Newcastle are not looking that far ahead as by far their biggest priority is to ensure they retain Premiership status.

The whole issue has been clouded again by the merger discussions between Bath and Bristol.

In the unlikely event of their amalgamation there would be no relegation, with Rotherham moving up to fill the vacant place.

The Falcons expect to have South African Mark Andrews back to partner Grimes in the second row tomorrow, and Epi Taione is also fit again.

Centre Jamie Noon has been named as the Premiership Player of the Month for April and will receive a magnum of champagne and a cheque for £200 at Kingston Park next Thursday.

Noon, who is in the England training squad for the World Cup, this week followed skipper Jonny Wilkinson in signing a new two-year contract.

"If Newcastle go down I will go down with them and try to help them come straight back up," he said.

"But I don't think we will be relegated because in our last six games we have shown we deserve to be in the Premiership."