Falcons lost the arm-wrestle with London Irish in a 46-12 defeat last weekend

Newcastle Falcons head coach Alan Tait has revealed his players have responded well in training to last Saturday's 46-12 home defeat by London Irish.

The result condemned the club to their third defeat in four games, and leaves Newcastle second from bottom going into Saturday's trip to Harlequins.

"It was pretty upbeat to be honest," Tait told BBC Newcastle.

"You don't throw the towel in. I've announced the team to them and they're all up for this game on Saturday."

Tait added: "This league is relentless, you've got to take the knocks and get up off the canvas."

Falcons' last success at the Stoop came in September 2000, when Rob Andrew's side had the boot of Jonny Wilkinson to thank for snatching a last-gasp 20-18 victory.

Despite a 10-year wait for a repeat performance, Tait is convinced his players can shatter that unwanted record on Saturday.

"We've got to have belief, it's one of the things we've talked about in the team meeting," Tait continued.

"We said to the players - 'does anybody think we can't go down to London and win this game?' - and nobody put their hand up, I'm glad to say.

"We're all up for it, and everybody wants to go down there and put one over Harlequins, who've got a pretty proud record against the Falcons.

"It's a tough place to go to, but I'm looking for the players to up their game from last Saturday."

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