ALEX Tait marked his 100th Newcastle Falcons appearance with a bonus-point try as the Championship leaders made it ten wins out of ten in Jersey.

Tait crossed for Falcons' fourth try with five minutes to go as Dean Richards' side overcame a below-par first half to cut loose after the interval.

Despite only being promoted into the Championship last season, Jersey claimed a surprise lead when Barry Davies slotted a 17th-minute penalty.

Newcastle were not at their most fluent in the first half, but they entered the interval with a 5-3 advantage after Warren Fury slipped in Jimmy Gopperth to round off a powerful surge after a line-out.

Falcons improved markedly after the interval, with their second try of the afternoon coming just two minutes after the break as Gopperth delayed his pass perfectly to enable Ryan Shortland to score.

The visitors' pack were on top throughout the second half, and Ally Hogg's line-out take enabled prop James Hall to pick up and score in the 56th minute.

A bonus point beckoned, but it did not arrive until five minutes from time. Gopperth sliced through the Jersey defence, and Alex Crockett teed up Tait to score in the corner.

The win leaves Falcons 13 points clear of Bedford at the top of the Championship table ahead of Friday night's home game with Plymouth.