After so many pre-match words the final scoreline said it all. Not since Dr Foster stepped in his fateful puddle has any visitor to Gloucester endured quite such a chastening experience as poor old Rob Andrew and his Falcons, up to their collective middles by half-time with Jonny Wilkinson in hospital for x-rays on damaged left ankle ligaments.

Things did not improve greatly in the second half and by the end the chants of "Are you watching, Rob Andrew?" could almost have been heard on Tyneside. In such circumstances the victim has only two real options: assume the foetal position and wait for the men in white coats or laugh out loud. Andrew, to his lasting credit, opted for the latter. "It was Gloucester's day but what goes around comes around," he said afterwards. Some will feel it already has.

For those content to draw a line under last December's unproven racism allegations - Andrew accused both Gloucester's French hooker, Olivier Azam and a section of the Kingsholm crowd of racial abuse - there was sufficient evidence on Saturday to support three strong hunches: that Gloucester are better equipped than most to end Leicester's domination of the Zurich Premiership next season, that Newcastle need some fresh forward power to complement their youthful promise and that England's manager Clive Woodward need look no further than Kingsholm for the ingredients to spice up next year's World Cup squad.

There were plenty of other Cherry and White players deserving of attention. Besides the motivated Azam the pace and dash of Jamie Forrester and James Simpson-Daniel yet again suggested they could just make the fondest dreams of Woodward and Gloucester's director of rugby Nigel Melville come true over the next year or two.

Woodward has already indicated the electric Simpson-Daniel will start for England against the Barbarians at Twickenham next Sunday. Forrester, meanwhile, scored his 15th try in 21 starts and will put genuine pressure on Lewis Moody, Joe Worsley and Alex Sanderson for a back-row place in next month's Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires.

On this evidence the fleet-footed pair also have a fair chance of playing in the Zurich Championship final and, following 178 points in their last three games, only Gloucester's mental block when it comes to winning big away games threatens their chances. "There's a will to take things forward and winning something would speed up that process," admitted Melville.

The summer will also see a reshuffle in Melville's coaching team, with the grapevine still insisting Bristol's Dean Ryan may move the short distance up the M5. What is certain is that the former South African national conditioning coach Wayne Diesel will be arriving next month.

For Newcastle and Andrew, though, the summer will be a pensive one. The inspirational Pat Lam and Inga Tuigamala have now retired and Doddie Weir, Gary Armstrong and George Graham are all returning to Scotland; in the absence of the injured Epi Taione, the alleged victim in the racism row, his pack may need some re-examination. Maybe Andrew should bury the hatchet even deeper and try to sign some of Gloucester's finest?

The better news is that Wilkinson, hurt when he was grabbed by the collar by Junior Paramore and caught his studs in the turf, faces only a six-to-eight-week recuperation. "It was all planned so he can't do anything for the next six weeks," said Andrew with a smile. He also rightly insists there is more talent behind the Falcons' scrum than this result indicated. "When we lost Jonny we lost all our shape. The younger players have been given a sharp reminder of life at the top which will burn deep inside them all summer."

So will the memory of at least two of Gloucester's nine tries. It is, nevertheless, debatable whether Phil Vickery's fine impersonation of a top-class left winger or Henry Paul's slicing individual score gave the Shed as much pleasure as the delicious alternative sport on offer.

Gloucester: Paul; O'Leary, Fanolua, Todd, Simpson-Daniel; Mercier (Beim, 74), Gomarsall (Yachvili, 65); Collazo (Woodman, h-t), Azam (Fortey, 73), Vickery (capt; Deacon, 73), Fidler, Pearce (Gillies, 65), Forrester, Boer, Paramore (Sewabu, 69).

Tries: Todd, Forrester, Beim, Paramore, O'Leary, Vickery, Mercier, Paul, Fanolua. Cons: Mercier 4, Paul 2. Pen: Mercier.

Newcastle: Walder; Botham, Noon, May, (Richardson, 77), Stephenson; Wilkinson (capt; MacLure, 17), Charlton (Armstrong, 48); Graham, Brotherstone, Hurter, Weir (Lam, h-t), Grimes, Vyvyan (Springay, 67), Devonshire, Arnold.

Pens: Walder 3.

Attendance: 10,500. Referee: S Lander (Wirral).