Wasps coach Shaun Edwards has hailed England star Paul Sackey as the best winger in Europe.
Winger praised after superb solo effort
After watching Paul Sackey score a stunning 80-yard try in his side's 32-13 Guinness Premiership win at Newcastle, Wasps coach Shaun Edwards has hailed the England star as the best winger in Europe.
Sackey finished off a spectacular move also involving fly-half Danny Cipriani to touch down one of four tries as Wasps won their game in hand to climb to third place in the table heading into the final round of regular season matches.
"I'm sticking my neck out but he's the best winger in Europe," Edwards said.
"It's between him and Shane Williams. He's come on in leaps and bounds and turned all that potential into the real deal."
Flankers James Haskell and Tom Rees had already touched down for Wasps before Sackey's 44th-minute effort.
Left winger Josh Lewsey then grabbed the all-important bonus-point try five minutes from the end to clinch a fifth successive away win - and one that keeps alive Wasps' hopes of securing a home semi-final for the play-offs.
Wasps director of rugby Ian McGeechan, whose side will stay in the north of England before Saturday's match against Leeds, added: "It's put us in a position where we can have a big say in what happens on the final day.
"We were a bit careless with some of our carrying and decision-making and we gave some silly points away in the first half.
"But I thought our forwards were outstanding and we did them justice in the end."
Depleted
A severely depleted Newcastle side - England backs Jonny Wilkinson, Jamie Noon, Matthew Tait and Toby Flood were all absent - also lost full-back Alex Tait with a head injury after only 12 minutes.
Such was their injury list that the Falcons ended the game with teenagers Micky Young and Rob Miller occupying the half-back roles.
Acting director of rugby Steve Bates complained about the legitimacy of Wasps' two second-half tries but he was delighted with the efforts of his young patched-up side.
"I thought it was a really encouraging performance against a good side," the former Wasps player said.
"I'm very proud of the boys. I thought their inexperience and lack of composure really told at times.
"We were struggling to keep up with the pace but I'm confident they will be better for the experience.
"Wasps put out a very strong side. They were very physical and played with intensity at contact. They got assistance from certain quarters but that's the way it goes."
Meanwhile, Bates admitted that Newcastle are close to making an announcement on his future.
He added: "I expect a decision very soon - I'm very optimistic."
