Newcastle Falcons Powergen Cup victory has earned them the golden ticket to European rugby's top party.
Their invitation to join the A list came as they beat Sale Sharks 37-33 at Twickenham in a thrilling final that could have gone either way till the very last.
Newcastle's win sees them enter into the Heineken Cup for the second occasion, their first appearance coming in the 2001/2 season.
Victory in the English Cup final was the Falcons only possible entry to the Heineken Cup, with the Falcons in ninth place in the Zurich Premiership, and some way off a league-based qualification.
The Falcons won a see-saw battle that saw the lead switch several times throughout.
But ultimately Newcastle held their nerve in a game which served up a record points aggregate for English rugby's knockout cup final.
Substitute Phil Dowson crossed with five minutes to snatch the lead and the match as the Falcons held out in the final moments.
Warren Britz, Hugh Vyvyan - acting as skipper in place of the injured Jonny Wilkinson - and Joe Shaw also crossed for the Falcons while Steve Hanley, Mark Cueto and Chris Mayor touched down for Sale - although more than one of the tries was a result of sloppy defending.
The attacking play was well matched by the two kickers - Sale's Charlie Hodgson and Newcastle's Dave Walder - who between them missed just a single shot at goal in 15 attempts.
Newcastle just about deserved to shade a nail-biting clash which lived up to its pre-match billing of being a potential thriller, repeating their cup triumph of 2001 when they defeated Harlequins.
