Stade Francais issued a warning to their fellow Heineken Cup semi-finals with a storming 40-point victory over Newcastle at Parc des Princes on Saturday.

The injury-ravaged Falcons showed courage to keep the scoreline at a respectable 22-8 after an hour, but the Stade backline moved up a gear to run in four late tries.


Man of the match, Stade fullback Olivier Sarramea, scored a hat-trick of tries – including two in the final three minutes – while hooker Mathieu Blin scored an early double.


The Falcons’ only response came from fullback Matthew Burke, who scored an early penalty goal before finishing off a fine move with a try in the 70th minute.


Sarramea had a superb game in the Stade No 15 jersey, proving a handful every time he touched the ball.

Both the home side’s wingers, Raphael Poulain and Julien Arias, also scored tries, while fly-half David Skrela and centre Brian Liebenberg shared the kicking duties.