Moffat was particularly impressed by the efforts of debutant stand-off Rory Hutton in last night’s preparation game.

Edinburgh dominated in the first half but only had a Ben Cairns try to show for their troubles.

Against the run of play, Newcastle took a 7-5 lead and ended up winning by a 12-point margin on Tyneside.

However, Moffat refused to be downbeat about the result.

He said: “It was an improvement on last weekend’s display.

“The areas we worked on were far better than against Harlequins. Our physicality and our work at the breakdown was much better – it was far more accurate.

“The only thing we didn’t manage to do in the first half was finish off our good play.”

He added: “Rory did very well. he's proved he can play at this level and, if he gets another opportunity, he has to do the same again. I was really pleased with his contribution.”

Edinburgh kick off the season against Cardiff Blues in Wales next Friday.

Moffat said: “Make no mistake, we wanted to win the game, but at the end it is all about preparing the right way for the start of the season; you don’t get points for these games.

“So in that respect it was vital to get another 80 minutes of game-time and now we need to carry on moving forward as we prepare for Cardiff next Friday.”