Scrum half Lee Dickson, openside Ben Woods and blindside flanker Phil Dowson all started the game – Dowson completing the full 80 minutes.
Prop forward David Wilson made an impact from the bench in the final 20 minutes, while scrum half James Grindal appeared for his Saxons debut in the latter stages of an entertaining encounter.
Falcons director of rugby, John Fletcher said: “The lads did themselves proud with some excellent performances, and let's not forget Steve Bates, of course, who coached the team to a well-deserved victory.”
Falcons captain Dowson added: “I’m massively pleased.
"We’ve had a good week training, a few of the guys know each other from last year’s Churchill Cup.
"The coaching has been exceptional, we’ve got our house in order and everything went well today.
"Our defence was solid and out kicking game was good. I thought Shane (Geraghty) played well, as did Lee Dickson, tactically we played in the right areas of the pitch and the front five were exceptional.”
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