English Premiership: Jonny Wilkinson might be the most precious commodity in rugby at the moment but Newcastle Falcons chief Rob Andrew is in no hurry to tie down the outhalf.

The World Cup-winner has 18 months left on his current contract but Andrew does not intend to pressure the player into signing a new deal in the wake of his Sydney heroics.

"Jonny will either want to stay or he won't," said the Falcons director of rugby. "He's only ever done one or two-year contracts and I wouldn't expect anything different.

"It goes without saying that we'd love him to stay here for the rest of his career. He'll make the decision for himself and we will support whatever decision he makes."

Andrew and Wilkinson, who will not return to the Zurich Premiership fray until next week, watched the Falcons drop further off the pace on Saturday when they lost 23-20 at home to Wasps.

A sell-out crowd of 10,000 turned up at Kingston Park to watch Wilkinson and England team-mate Lawrence Dallaglio parade the Webb Ellis Trophy.

But there was little pop to the Falcons' celebrations after a late try from Peter Richards helped Wasps snatch a victory that kept the visitors in second place behind leaders Bath, who squeaked a 13-12 win at Leicester.

Third-placed London Irish continued to build on their early-season momentum, holding on to their position with a 9-3 win over Sale Sharks.