But Falcons fly-half Jimmy Gopperth kicked 19 points and Redford Pennycook and Tim Swinson both scored tries to give the Kingston Park faithful something to cheer about as Newcastle picked up their first Aviva Premiership win of the season.

But rumours were ripe the morning of the game that Henson would be playing his first competitive game since March 2009 in the amber and black of Wasps and Hanks moved quickly to douse the flames after the final whistle.

“Did you guys not get the statement (on Friday morning)? That was straight from the horse's mouth,” Hanks said.

“Gavin Henson as far as I am aware gets linked to us, as every Welsh player does.

“I understand he is doing some dancing or something, but we haven't signed Gavin Henson.”

The former Waikato boss was more concerned about his side's defeat and was less than happy with the manner of a performance that saw them throw away a 14-point lead.

“We didn't look after the ball, simple as that,” added Hanks. “Every time we had the ball or got in a position to do something we dropped it, and then we came under pressure and gave away some soft penalties.

“Gopperth had his kicking boots on and they built a score and deserved the win.”