Newcastle's Heineken Cup hopes were predictably destroyed by rampant French champions Stade Francais who reached the semi-finals without breaking sweat at Parc des Princes.

Stade's all-action approach produced a magnificent seven tries, leaving Newcastle chasing shadows for much of the action.

Full-back Olivier Sarramea led the rout, scoring three tries, and there was a double for hooker Mathieu Blin, while wings Julien Arias and Raphael Poulin also touched down.

Fly-half David Skrela and centre Brian Liebenberg shared 13 points with the boot, and all Newcastle could manage was a Matt Burke consolation try and Burke penalty.

Stade now march on to a last-four appointment with Biarritz or Munster later this month, but Newcastle's eventful European adventure is now over for another season.

Newcastle's first European quarter-final appearance was greeted by glorious sunshine in the Paris suburbs, but Falcons' 3,000-strong army of travelling fans also witnessed a familiar sight - a squad without Jonny Wilkinson.

The England captain had hoped to feature among Newcastle's replacements, three weeks after suffering a knee injury, but he failed to recover in time, together with Welsh international flanker Colin Charvis (foot), who was another pre-match bench contender.

Dave Walder continued as Wilkinson's faithful fly-half deputy, while full-back Matt Burke made his first start since January and England centre Jamie Noon captained Newcastle on their biggest day.

Stade, scenting a Paris semi-final against Biarritz or Munster later this month, were without concussed French international wing Christophe Dominici, but they still paraded a galaxy of international stars, including Agustin Pichot, Mauro Bergamasco, Sylvain Marconnet and Stephane Glas.

Newcastle's worst fears were confirmed from the start as Stade made their intentions clear by carving Falcons open to claim an eighth-minute try after Skrela booted them into a 3-0 lead.

Sarramea then caused the Newcastle defence huge grief after being freed by a superb Raphael Poulain pass, and fourth-phase possession ended with centre Brian Liebenberg sending Blin over for a stunning try.

Newcastle, though, offered glimpses of early brightness, highlighted when Walder menacingly probed midfield space, and Burke opened their account by landing a 48-metre penalty on 14 minutes.

But there was no real escape for the Falcons, a fact confirmed when Stade launched a ferocious forward drive from a 19th-minute lineout and Blin prospered by claiming his second try.

Skrela slotted the angled conversion, and Newcastle worryingly found themselves 15-3 adrift approaching the second quarter.

Inevitably, matters deteriorated for Newcastle before the break and, with Blin again prominent, Sarramea scampered over to claim Stade's third try - converted by Skrela - for a 22-3 advantage.

Newcastle, with their scrum in deep trouble, sent on David Wilson to replace loosehead prop James Isaacson nine minutes before the break, and half-time could not arrive quickly enough for the visitors.

Stade lost injured prop Pieter De Villers just before the break - ex-Gloucester forward Rodrigo Roncero replaced him - and Newcastle were spared further misery, as they trooped off 19 points adrift.

Newcastle's day went from bad to worse after 49 minutes when they lost prop Micky Ward, who followed non front-row starters Ian Peel and Galo Alvo Quinones on the injury list.

With two hookers - Andy Long and Matt Thompson in the front-row - Irish referee Alain Rolland had no option but to rule uncontested scrums for the final 30 minutes.

Newcastle displayed some impressively durable qualities, especially in defence, and they managed to keep Stade scoreless for the entire third quarter, even though the visitors offered no serious attacking threat.

But further Stade points had to come, given their degree of dominance, and when Poulin touched down on 63 minutes, a semi-final place was guaranteed.

Stade simply moved up another gear during the closing stages.

After Poulin breezed over for try number four, his fellow wing Julien Arias also crossed.

Liebenberg took over kicking duties to slot the touchline conversion and Stade moved out of sight at 36-8 ahead approaching full-time.

Newcastle bagged an excellent consolation from Burke following a flowing move, but Falcons finished with 14 men when substitute Epi Taione was sin-binned after a high tackle on Stade flanker Remy Martin.

And Sarramea made Taione pay a hefty price, completing his hat-trick with two more tries in the closing minutes, with Liebenberg adding another conversion.