Newcastle Falcons' appalling season continued on Sunday as the Zurich Premiership's bottom club slipped further adrift at the foot of the table after a heavy defeat away to London Irish.

The Exiles went into the game second-from-bottom, only two points clear of their visitors, but they ran out easy winners.

They scored three tries, through Barry Everitt, Nick Burrows and Paul Sackey, with Everitt adding a conversion and a penalty, to move six points clear of the relegation-threatened Falcons.

Rob Andrew's Newcastle side has now lost 10 times in the league this season and the Northerners head into 2003 with a paltry 16 points from 13 games.

Match details

London Irish 20 Tries: Everitt, Burrows, Sackey Con: Everitt Pen: Everitt Newcastle 0

Neither side started well, but after missing two early penalties that could have handed the Irish a six-point advantage, Everitt made amends with the first score of the afternoon after 36 minutes.

Newcastle made a costly error at a defensive line-out when hooker James Christian threw the ball too long.

It is a pretty tough battle at the moment but I do believe we are capable of turning it around and winning games Newcastle boss Rob Andrew

London Irish capitalised and earned themselves a scrum. Scrum-half Darren Edwards fed Everitt and the fly-half chipped ahead and grounded the ball under the posts.

Everitt converted and immediately after the restart another Falcons error led to a try for the Exiles.

This time it was the turn of centre Burrows, who charged down new signing Mark Mayerhofler's clearance kick to score. Everitt missed the conversion.

We have now got ourselves at a crossroads as we are winning games that we were losing London Irish boss Conor O'Shea

The number 10 then added his only penalty of the afternoon before pacy winger Sackey rounded things off with a try deep into injury time.

London Irish now have three wins out of three against the Falcons this season.

London Irish: Horak, Sackey, Burrows, Cannon, Bishop, Everitt, Edwards, Worsley, Drotske, Halford, Strudwick, Kennedy, Gustard, Danaher, Sheasby. Replacements: Martens, Mapletoft, Dawson, Kirke, Delaney, Hatley, Hardwick.

Newcastle: Noon, Shaw, May, Mayerhofler, Botham, M. Wilkinson, Charlton, Peel, Christian, Hurter, Vyvyan, Grimes, Dunbar, Mower, Newby. Replacements: Grindal, Godman, Stephenson, Makin, Hamilton, Ward, Taione.

Referee: Tony Spreadbury (RFU)