NEWCASTLE FALCONS winger Vereniki Goneva is determined to make up for lost time as he looks to help his side maintain their surge up the Aviva Premiership table when they host Harlequins on Sunday afternoon.

Goneva was Falcons’ match-winner last weekend, with his interception try sealing a superb 22-16 win at Northampton Saints that lifted Dean Richards’ side to within three points of a top-six position.

The decisive score was a major moment for Goneva, who won a Premiership title with Leicester Tigers, but whose Falcons career has been a truncated affair so far because of injury.

The Fijian flyer was hailed as Newcastle’s key summer signing when he moved to Kingston Park, but a hamstring injury meant he spent much of the opening three weeks of the season on the sidelines.

He is back in the fold now though, and having showcased his class last weekend as he made more running metres than anyone else in the Premiership, the former RPA Player of the Season is desperate to make a similarly positive impression this weekend.

“It has been a little bit of a frustrating start from a personal point of view, playing the first few games but then missing out through a hamstring injury, but it’s good to be back now and looking forward to Harlequins on Sunday,” said Goneva, who has dotted down 32 tries in his 69 Premiership outings since moving from France in 2012.

“I played about ten minutes against Exeter two weeks ago, it was good to get back onto the field and then last Friday down at Northampton was a nice win to be part of.”

Having raced up the left wing, stepping inside the last man with four minutes to go at Franklin’s Gardens, the 42-time Fiji international said: “For me it was a case of ‘just go for it’ when I sensed the opportunity might be there.

“It felt like a chance to win the game, we knew it would be a hard test against a good side like Northampton and the team were really happy to come away with a victory.

“It was a better performance from the boys than the week before against Exeter. We were frustrated during our last home game, it happened and we bounced back, so now we just want to keep that positive feeling going. We have put aside the games we have played, we have parked them and are now just looking forwards.”

Falcons’ last home outing saw them suffer a 32-19 defeat to Exeter, and there is a collective determination to take a major step forward on Sunday.

Harlequins edged out Bath by a point last weekend, but will once again be missing a number of internationals as the Autumn series of Test matches draws to an end.

“They will be another big test, and hopefully we can get a big crowd,” said Goneva. “Every game in the Aviva Premiership is tough, Harlequins will come up here expecting to win and it should be an exciting game for the fans.

“They have a squad with a lot of top players but we just have to front up to that and show our own quality. I’m looking forward to it.”