JONNY Golding insists he is putting five months of injury hell behind him after making a successful return for Newcastle Falcons.

The prop-forward received arguably the biggest cheer of the day from the Kingston Park faithful when he emerged from the bench for the final 15 minutes of Sunday’s 37-7 thumping of Sale Sharks.

Dogged by persistent Achilles problems for the entire campaign, the England Saxons cap said: “It has been a long while out, and it felt good to be back.

“The injury was a pretty serious one so we knew we couldn’t rush it, but it makes it all worthwhile when you get back onto the field. The boys who started the game had put an incredible platform out there for us, and my involvement really was just to try and help finish the job off.

“I had been hoping to be involved for the previous couple of games, to be honest, but I talked to the coaches and we erred on the side of caution. It was fantastic in the end, though, and just great to be out there.”

Hitting rucks with gusto and flying into every contact, the Northumbrian added: “I was just charging around trying to get the ball and looking for work, which is the type of player I am.

“I am grateful to Gary Gold and his coaching team for having the faith in me to give me a run, and it felt amazing to get the win for our supporters.”

With a 30-point triumph marking Gold’s first full game at the helm, Golding was quick to credit the new regime following last month’s decision to put head coach Alan Tait on gardening leave.

He said: “The preparation was fantastic. Gary and his team have had us working on a specific game plan, one which we stuck to and executed well. There were one or two things which didn’t go our way, but it never threw us from our task.

“It just goes to show if you execute what you do in training then you get your rewards, but we know it is only a starting block and there is a lot more to come. We were happy with the win, but we want to push on now and make that a habit.”

Elaborating on the changes brought in by the former South African national team assistant, who has brought in England’s Mike Ford and John Wells, Golding added: “From the relatively short time we have had with him so far he seems like a good coach, and an excellent motivator of players.

“I think man-management is so important in sport, and the more we get to work with him the more we will see what he can bring to the club.

“Obviously we will keep the tactical details in-house rather than alerting our rivals, but essentially it is just focusing on the basics and doing those efficiently.

“He engages with the boys very well, and his whole idea is that he does not want to make it complicated. If you do it well you get the rewards, and that is what showed on Sunday.”

Still nine points clear at the bottom of the Aviva Premiership, however, the loose-head said: “It has been a good start, but that is all that it is at the moment.

“The belief is definitely there that we can do it, though – no doubt at all.

“If we can play like we did on Sunday then we can win games against anybody. We need to stick to the basics, execute our game plan and work hard for each other.

“That showed against Sale, but it was only the start and we are not going to get carried away by one cup victory. Leicester away on Saturday will be a new challenge, and we have to earn it.”