Andy Goode has been tempted out of retirement, with the former England fly-half signing a three-month deal with Newcastle.
Goode hung up his boots in September due to injury problems, having only moved to London Irish from Wasps over the summer.
However, he has been coaxed into a rethink and will provide cover for injured duo Mike Delany and Ruki Tipuna, neither of whom are expected to be back until the spring.
The Falcons also announced the signing of 21-year-old scrum-half Justin Booth from New Zealand side Manawatu Turbos, giving their half-back options a further boost.
"I'm looking forward to the challenge after having four months to recuperate and let my body recover," Goode told Newcastle's website.
Dusted off the boots and I'm Newcastle bound this morning! @FalconsRugby
— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) December 28, 2015
"It's a short term opportunity but I want to do as much as I can for the Falcons as I have a huge amount of respect for Dean [Richards, Falcons director of rugby] who I go back a long time with and who gave me my first opportunity at Leicester 17 years ago."
Richards added: "We're delighted to welcome Andy and Jamie to Kingston Park, although there is obviously disappointment that they come through injuries to Mike and Ruki.
"With those two unavailable to us for the immediate future, the opportunity to bring in additional players of the quality of Andy and Jamie, to supplement what we already have here, was a great opportunity
"Andy is known quantity and will bring a huge amount of experience while Jamie has been impressing a lot of people over in New Zealand and has the opportunity to do the same here at Kingston Park."