Mathew Tait has signed a new one-year deal with Newcastle Falcons, keeping him at the club until 2009.

The 22-year-old England star, who can play at centre, wing or full-back, said: “I look forward to helping the Falcons fulfil their ambitions.

“Under John Fletcher there are exciting times ahead at Newcastle.

“It is a great environment to be in with a focus on learning and improving every single day in training. And that was a major factor in my decision.”

Tait made his debut for the Falcons at the age of 18 and has scored 23 tries in 73 starts.

He has also forced his way into the international arena - and particularly caught the eye in last year’s World Cup final defeat by South Africa - but has not started any of England’s Six Nations matches this season.

Director of rugby Fletcher said: “Mathew is among the most gifted young players in the world.

“The fact that he sees his future at Newcastle Falcons is further endorsement of what we are doing here and the level of ambition currently at the club.

“It is no secret that a number of other top teams were keen on signing Mathew, but he is a vital part of our jigsaw and is fully buying in to what we are doing here at the moment.”

Mathew Tait has signed a new one-year deal with Newcastle Falcons, keeping him at the club until 2009.

The 22-year-old England star, who can play at centre, wing or full-back, said: “I look forward to helping the Falcons fulfil their ambitions.

“Under John Fletcher there are exciting times ahead at Newcastle.

“It is a great environment to be in with a focus on learning and improving every single day in training. And that was a major factor in my decision.”

Tait made his debut for the Falcons at the age of 18 and has scored 23 tries in 73 starts.

He has also forced his way into the international arena - and particularly caught the eye in last year’s World Cup final defeat by South Africa - but has not started any of England’s Six Nations matches this season.

Director of rugby Fletcher said: “Mathew is among the most gifted young players in the world.

“The fact that he sees his future at Newcastle Falcons is further endorsement of what we are doing here and the level of ambition currently at the club.

“It is no secret that a number of other top teams were keen on signing Mathew, but he is a vital part of our jigsaw and is fully buying in to what we are doing here at the moment.”

Jonny Wilkinson kicked a late penalty as Newcastle edged past Saracens in an absorbing Premiership encounter.

England team-mate Toby Flood’s try and Wilkinson’s boot helped the hosts to a 10-3 half-time advantage but the lead changed four times after the break.

The visitors were rewarded for their efforts when Ben Skirving went over and Glen Jackson’s kicking put them ahead.

But with a minute remaining Wilkinson’s kick from the left of the posts struck the near upright and went in to win it.

It capped a commanding display in attack and defence from the England fly-half, while Flood and Mathew Tait also impressed ahead of the Six Nations game against France next weekend.
 
Another international back, centre Jamie Noon, was ruled out with a tight hamstring but is expected to be fit for England.

After going close from a Tait break down the right, Flood picked up Lee Dickson’s bobbling pass and stepped inside to go over.

Sarries missed a golden opportunity to respond when prop Kevin Yates fumbled Adam Powell’s pass over the line following severe pressure.

After the break Saracens began to establish greater continuity in midfield and when Jackson found Skirving, the number eight crossed in the corner.

Jackson then put his side in front after Ben Woods was sin-binned for pulling back Neil de Kock off the ball.

But Wilkinson added another three points when Sarries were offside on their 22, although Jackson regained the lead with 12 minutes left.

In the final telling piece of action, Rod Penney was penalised for hands in the ruck and Wilkinson did the rest.

Newcastle fly-half Jonny Wilkinson has pledged his future to the club after signing a new two-year deal.

The 28-year-old World Cup winner is currently in his 11th season with the Falcons and is nine points short of kicking his 2,000th point for the club.

Newcastle’s director of rugby John Fletcher said: “This is a massive endorsement of where we are going.

“It’s no secret that Jonny has had offers from elsewhere, but this is where he sees his future.”

Wilkinson’s future at Newcastle was in doubt when the club’s fitness coach Steve Black, one of the fly-half’s closest confidants, left his post in December.

Wilkinson, who was born in Surrey, joined the Falcons after leaving school in 1997 and has made 163 appearances during his time in the north east.

He helped the club win the Premiership title in 1998 and the Powergen Cup in 2001 and 2004.

He also kicked the winning drop-goal as England won the World Cup in 2003 and played a major role as they reached last year’s final in France, losing to South Africa.

“Jonny is an incredible sportsman, a fine character and just a tremendous ambassador for the club and for the region,” added Fletcher.

“He is the biggest name in rugby, still the best player in the world in my opinion, and the fact that he wants to stay at Newcastle sends out a clear message about where this club is going and how close it is to his heart.

“This is his home, it’s where his pals are and it’s where he believes he can fulfil his rugby ambitions, as well as helping the team reach its collective goals.”

The announcement comes just days after Newcastle United football club announced their new manager.

Fletcher added: “Kevin Keegan returning to Newcastle United and Jonny Wilkinson staying at the Falcons - it doesn’t get much bigger than that if you’re a sports fan in this region.

“It’s something that all of our supporters should be excited about. We’ve seen the impact he has made already this season, and we look forward to building this team alongside him over the next two seasons.”

Newcastle held off a second-half fightback from Saracens to claim a thrilling Guinness Premiership win.

Tries from Mathew Tait and Toby Flood helped the Falcons into a 15-6 lead at the break, with Gordon Ross slotting two penalties for the home side.

Saracens upped their game after the break and took the lead through tries from Neil de Kock and Hugh Vyvyan.

But Newcastle hit back and Jamie Noon’s 77th-minute try secured their first away win in the league for 13 months.

Saracens, who rested Andy Farrell and had first-choice fly-half Glen Jackson on the bench, found themselves trailing inside the first two minutes as Newcastle scored a sublime try.

The Falcons launched a sweeping attack which criss-crossed the pitch and ran through several phases before Flood, who produced a number of delightful touches, delayed his pass to perfection to put Tait through a gap just inside the Saracens half.

Tait, playing at full-back, still had ex-Springbok speedster Brent Russell to beat, but the England man pinned back his ears and scorched over in the corner for a marvellous score.

Jonny Wilkinson converted from wide out but his radar was not at its most accurate and he missed three first-half kicks.

Sarries got on the board through a Ross penalty but they were struggling to get into the game and conceded a second try after 22 minutes, just after losing Fabio Ongaro to the sin bin for trying to pull down a maul.

Newcastle, as they did all half, attacked using the full width of the field.

And when Flood found Brent Wilson just inside the touchline, the inside centre was on hand to take the flanker’s inside pass and cross for the second try.

A penalty apiece from Ross and Wilkinson meant the Falcons led 15-6 at the break, but it could have been so much better for the visitors, who looked much the more threatening side.
 

Sarries brought on Jackson at the break in place of Ross and the hosts immediately looked more threatening, with Jackson trimming the gap to six points with a penalty.

They thought they had scored their first try just before the hour mark when Rodd Penney sliced through off Chris Jack’s well-timed pass, but Tait pulled off a fine cover tackle and prevented the winger grounding the ball.

The home fans in the 17,223 crowd finally had a try to cheer when the Television Match Official confirmed De Kock’s score after he squirmed over from Russell’s pass.

It had been all Saracens since the break and they took the lead for the first time when former Newcastle captain Vyvyan finished off a sustained attack.

With only four points between the two sides, Newcastle were still very much in the hunt.

When they were awarded a penalty 40m out, they spurned a shot at goal in favour of kicking the penalty into the corner.

Saracens resisted the initial drive from the line-out but Noon powered over when the ball was switched into midfield.

Wilkinson landed the conversion and, although Saracens attacked relentlessly for the last two minutes, Newcastle held out to claim a thrilling victory.