Life is as sweet for Harlequins as it is sour for English rugby's rulers over the road. Never at any stage did they look likely to lose their 100% start and they have now won their first nine Premiership matches, a record. Quins, unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions this season, lead their nearest challengers, Saracens, by nine points, some margin in a league with an increasingly squeezed middle.
It also underlined just how much English-qualified potential is lurking out there, waiting for a national set-up with the necessary instincts to uncork it. Six tries against the team propping up the table may not sound definitive evidence of Test quality but Jordan Turner-Hall, Joe Marler, Seb Stegmann and Mike Brown are all playing like men with no ceiling to their ambitions. "I don't think the last week reflects what's going on in English rugby at all," said Conor O'Shea, Quins' rugby director.
O'Shea was also at pains to stress how swiftly things can change, both for those on the crest of a wave and for those trapped on the seabed. "It'll change for English rugby because there's too much talent there. It's not been a good time for anybody over the last week but they'll get over it. You'll get some young guys proud to pull on that jersey and perceptions will change very quickly. It can change for us, too, if we don't keep our eye on the ball, and we're aware of that."
It would be scant reward if Quins were to be scuppered by their own success during the Six Nations period, always assuming their gladiators make it through December and January unscathed. Nick Easter was a casualty here, tweaking his ankle and calf, and Turner-Hall was led away looking groggy after colliding with his formidable team-mate Maurie Fa'asavalu.
With the captain, Chris Robshaw, sitting out the game with a calf strain, they can only hope the physios work their magic before this weekend's trip to Wasps and their European pool games against Toulouse. Stamina, as well as skill, is going to be required.
Patience was also a prerequisite against a distinctly physical Newcastle team. If the Falcons did themselves no favours at times, forced to soldier on with 13 players in the third quarter when they lost two men to the sin-bin, they took a fair amount of breaking down and did not enjoy much luck. The scrum-half Chris Pilgrim's yellow card was a case of mistaken identity which the Falcons' head coach, Alan Tait, described as "absolute madness" and a solitary try did not reflect the strength of the visitors' midfield running.
Facing a team running as hot as Quins scarcely helps. Much has been written about the improvement in club morale since the dark days of "Bloodgate" but the oozing confidence is most obvious in the way they pass and receive the ball. Either O'Shea has signed players purely on the basis of their handling or they possess such self-belief that even those with suspect catching skills are clinging on to everything. High, low, short, long … at times it was like watching a world-class slip cordon.
When the little offloads stick as well, it makes life a nightmare for any defence. Newcastle, though, had only themselves to blame when Stegmann left three would‑be tacklers sprawling to score the first try in the right corner. Jimmy Gopperth and Jeremy Manning did create a close-range score for James Fitzpatrick but the fit-again Danny Care's score from a long-range breakout involving Sam Smith and the excellent Turner-Hall just before the interval swiftly punctured any north-east optimism.
Turner-Hall will certainly be among the names in the frame for the England No12 jersey and O'Shea believes the 23-year-old is still improving. "He's got a lot more to his game than people give him credit for. I think he's a better player than he was two years ago."
The loss of Tim Swinson to the sin‑bin also undermined the Falcons and Quins took full advantage, tries from Luke Wallace and the outstanding Brown wrapping up the bonus point with 16 minutes left. Stegmann grabbed his second before big James Johnston, brother of the better‑known Census, added a sixth. It completed a damaging weekend for the Falcons, now nine points adrift at the bottom with the halfway point in the season looming. Their recently arrived Pacific island cavalry, Suka Hufanga and Taiasina Tu'ifua, have beefed them up physically but it is an uphill push from here.
"They always say it's tough at the top but it's tougher at the bottom," said Tait, doing his best to stay positive. "There's still a lot of rugby to be played. This squad is good enough. We just have to respect the ball."
Harlequins Brown; Stegmann, Hopper, Turner-Hall (Casson, 68), Smith; Evans (Clegg, 66), Care; Marler, Brooker (Gray, 57) Johnston, Vallejos, Robson (capt), Fa'asavalu (Matthews, 75), Walace, Easter (Skinner, 39).
Tries Stegmann 2, Care, Wallace, Brown, Johnston. Cons Evans 2, Clegg. Pen Evans.
Newcastle Manning (Goosen, 68); A Tait (Sheriff, h-t), Helleur, Fitzpatrick, Hufunga; Gopperth, Pilgrim (Pasqualin, 66); Wells (Shiells, 53), Mayhew, Hall, Hudson (capt), Van der Heijden, Swinson (Fondse, 66), Hogg, Tu'ifua (Welch, 61).
Try Fitzpatrick. Pen Gopperth.
Sin-bin Swinson, 48; Pilgrim, 55.
Referee L Pearce (Devon). Attendance 12,521.
