MATCH DETAILS Northampton (20) 23 Tries: Hyndman, Krige Cons: Drahm 2 Pens: Drahm 3 Newcastle (12) 22 Try: Noon Con: J Wilkinson Pens: Walder 2, J Wilkinson 3

The England fly-half came on as a replacement after Michael Stephenson was stretchered off after 37 minutes.

Playing centre, Wilkinson immediately landed a penalty and helped the Falcons fight their way back into the match.

But Northampton had built up a healthy lead thanks to first-half tries from Chris Hyndman and Corne Krige and were able to hang on for victory.

Wilkinson's performance will have boosted his chances of proving his fitness ahead of the Lions tour of New Zealand this summer.

He had not played since last month because of a knee injury but slotted seamlessly into the Falcons' line-up, kicking a penalty within three minutes of coming on.

Newcastle held their breath in the second half when Wilkinson was slow to get to his feet after appearing to receive a knock to the head.

But the 25-year-old went on to kick two further penalties and a conversion although a missed drop-goal and long-range penalty in the last five minutes meant Newcastle were unable to overhaul the home side.

Jonny looked pretty good to me Newcastle coach Rob Andrew

Northampton's Shane Drahm held his nerve to kick three penalties and two conversions as Saints held on and went a long way towards ensuring their Zurich Premiership survival.

Despite picking up a bonus point, Newcastle's defeat means that they still need a last-day win against London Irish to make certain of their own safety.

Newcastle coach Rob Andrews said he was confident that Wilkinson would be fit for the Lions.

"We'd said all season that physically he's in great shape and he looked pretty good to me," said Andrew.

"We're just pleased he's got through 50 minutes or so."

Andrew said that Wilkinson had benefitted from having to come on earlier than anticipated after Stephenson suffered a suspected broken leg when he was tackled by Ben Cohen.

"We'd originally thought about bringing Jonny on at half-time," said Andrew.

"That was the original plan and it worked out quite nicely as he got an extra 10 minutes before half-time to get warmed up."

Northampton: Reihana, Rudd, Stcherbina, Hyndman, Cohen, Drahm, Jones, Emms, Thompson, Sturgess, Boome, Lord, Fox, Krige, Soden. Replacements: Richmond, Budgen, Browne, Beattie, Fulton, Myring, Diggin.

Newcastle: Walder, May, Noon, Mayerhofler, Stephenson, M. Wilkinson, Grindal, Quinones, Thompson, Wilson, Gross, Grimes, Charvis, Harris, Dowson. Replacements: Ward, Long, Parling, McCarthy, Flood, J. Wilkinson, Charlton.