Declan Danaher crashes over to score for the Exiles © Getty Images

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Matches: Newcastle Falcons 8 - 24 London Irish

Teams: England | London Irish | Newcastle Falcons

London Irish coach Toby Booth believes the 24-8 victory at Newcastle which propelled his side to third in the Premiership is vindication of a flexible selection policy.

Booth was without full-back Delon Armitage through England duty and also had to contend with the absence of powerful Pacific Islanders three-quarters Seilala Mapasua and Sailosi Tagicakibau and influential Irish lock Bob Casey. Armitage's 23-year-old brother Steffon was also dropped, only to come on and score within two minutes of his arrival, his try coming between scores from flankers Richard Thorpe and Declan Danaher.

"There are no sacred cows at London Irish," Booth said. "Steffon was omitted because he's dipped a bit in form and I felt others warranted an inclusion after how they've performed. Gone are the days when there were automatic choices for us.

"It's a new thing having blocks of England players and other internationals away. We're in unfamiliar territory. But if a player comes to me at the end of a game and says 'I told you so', then I've probably got it right."

Booth also decided to switch the influential Shane Geraghty to inside-centre in order to accommodate captain Mike Catt at fly-half. Catt was accurate with the boot and produced a number of telling breaks in the first half.

Booth added: "I'm a big believer that it's a 22-man game. I know that other coaches don't necessarily agree with that. I want everyone to know it's a conscious decision that everyone has a part to play at some point in the game. We play with a lot of width when appropriate and having two very good decision-makers at 10 and 12 is an Australian method we've adopted.

"It's like a boxer softening an opponent up. You work out your combination and then land the killer blow later."

Steve Bates, Newcastle director of rugby and a colleague of Booth's at England Saxons level, was left to reflect on a lengthening injury list. The Falcons have now lost six out of seven matches in all competitions going into a crunch clash with Worcester on Friday.

Bates said: "We missed Carl Hayman today and that was a massive problem we could have done without. Ed Williamson's shoulder has been a bit sore and now he's twisted his ankle. Russell Winter has pulled his hamstring so we may well be forced into changes.

"That in itself is frustrating because along with Brent Wilson, they were two of our better performing forwards of late."