“It has been a bit nerve-wracking, though, because it has taken some time to sort out. With the new salary cap taking a while to be ratified, the management rightly wanted to wait until that had been agreed before moving forward.

“And then with the credit crunch as well, it has been an uncertain time. But all that is sorted now and it’s fantastic to have the new deal signed.”

The Falcons squad will be smaller next term, but Bates and chairman Dave Thompson expect it to be more competitive, hoping for quality over quantity.

Charlton feels things are moving in the right direction at Kingston Park, but knows those steps will not turn into a sprint.

“The plan is certainly expected to build momentum over three to four years,” said Charlton. “And this year we have definitely made progress, but the challenge is to build on that again.

“Dowse has chosen to go to Northampton and that will be a good challenge for him, and it will be interesting when we come up against him.

“It has been great having Tom May at 10, because just like Jonny, he is a very good communicator, and a loud one at that. So when it gets really noisy, you always know where he is and what he wants.

“And also his game helps mine, and Micky’s too, because we both like to get in behind the defence and play off the back of that.

“So when we go, Tom always goes with us, and that has made a difference.”