Tait has made more than 40 appearances for Falcons

Newcastle Falcons full-back Alex Tait believes the visit of London Irish to Kingston Park on Saturday could be a pivotal moment for the club.

Falcons dropped out of the top six following last weekend's defeat by Northampton and Tait says the club can show their intent against the Exiles.

"It's a massively important game," he told BBC Newcastle.

"It could be a turning point in our season, if we get this win then we're right back in the mix."

Despite the Falcons showing great improvement on last season, where they only avoided relegation thanks to a late run of firm, this season's form has been built largely on strong performances away from home.

The key problem for Steve Bates' side has been the condition of the playing surface following the snowfall and cold weather suffered in the North East during the winter.

"To be fair the pitch hasn't been fantastic, but it hasn't been an excuse because everyone else is playing on the same pitch," Tait said.

"The ground-staff have been doing a very good job, and by the sounds of it we're getting some covers on this week which will keep a lot of water and frost off, so we'll have a decent playing surface for Saturday."

Tait, 21, made his debut against Cetransa in November 2007 and has since made 43 appearances, scoring five tries.

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