Falcons fly through to last eight after romp

NEWCASTLE rattled up a cricket score against Cetransa El Salvador to make it a clean sweep of home quarter-finals for English clubs in the European Challenge Cup.

The Falcons scored their bonus-point try after only 17 minutes at Kingston Park and the 15-try, 97-0 win earned them a quarter-final against Castres Olympique.

They join Worcester Warriors, Bath and Sale in the top four after the pool stages.

Phil Dowson, Ollie Phillips, Lee Dixon and Ben Woods all scored tries before the match was 20 minutes old, and fly-half Toby Flood twisted the knife with his boot.

Hooker Matt Thompson made it 33-0 after only 21 minutes, winger Phillips and back-rower Dowson completed their doubles, and Brent Wilson and Geoffrey Parling scored the Falconsf eighth and ninth tries as they took a daunting 59-0 lead at half time.

Newcastle coach John Fletcher made five changes at the interval but it made little difference to the one-way traffic as winger Tim Visser crossed to take the try tally to 10.

Replacements Rob Vickers, Hall Charlton and Russell Winter were next to score, and Phillips scored his third and fourth tries in injury time as the Falcons flirted with the century mark.

England will monitor the fitness of Simon Shaw this week after the Wasps lock suffered an ankle injury that threatens his participation in the RBS 6 Nations.

Shaw sustained the damage during yesterdayfs 19-3 Heineken Cup defeat by Munster, falling awkwardly while making a tackle at a line-out early in the second half.

He was stretchered from the pitch in considerable discomfort and taken to hospital where an X-ray revealed he had incurred soft tissue damage rather than a break.

Wasps are reluctant to set a date for his return and the 34- year-old will almost certainly miss the start of the Six Nations.

A club statement said: eeShaw will undergo review and treatment on his injury throughout this week.

eeFurther updates as to the extent of his injury will be issued by Wasps later this week.ff