Chick hopes to create more home drama
The England back-rower crossed two minutes from time in Newcastle’s 18-14 victory over Wasps, saying: “It was a fantastic feeling to score that try, even though it was a bit of a run-in from my own perspective.
“Brett Connon and Jamie Blamire had done most of the hard work before the ball even came to me, but you always enjoy those moments and it’s nice that we’re playing a good brand of rugby which is challenging teams.
“It was also the first time I’ve played at Kingston Park in front of fans since Covid came in, and it was an amazing atmosphere. They made the game far more exciting and really pushed us over the line to get that win, so hopefully we can replicate that kind of atmosphere on Saturday.”
Beaten at Saracens last weekend despite being 14 points up during the first half, Chick admitted that penalties had hampered his team in the North London clash.
“We were in a position to win the game, so it was a double disappointment to miss out on the victory and then the losing bonus point,” said the 24-year-old, who has played 87 times for the Falcons.
“It is what it is, we learn from our mistakes and we will move on to Bristol this weekend. You’re never going to win a game of rugby when you give away 20 penalties, especially against a side as good as Saracens. It’s an easy out for them to kick the ball into your half, and a lot of them were avoidable penalties.
“We know we need to get that out of our game, and Saturday against Bristol is a great opportunity for us.”
The Bears, too, tasted defeat last weekend after leading 21-0 at Harlequins, leaving them with one win from three games.
Chick said: “Bristol will be frustrated with how they’ve started their season, but they’re a team who finished top of the regular-season table last season, and you have to respect them for that.
“They’ll come up here and attack, so we have to be ready for that. We know what they’re about, but we feel we’ve got the ability here to go out and beat them.
“We’ve not had a four-try bonus point yet, which has been frustrating, and I feel like we’re getting close. We need to be pushing on and getting that fourth try, and even in the games we’ve won that has been a major focus for the lads.
“Everyone seems to be beating everyone this season, so those bonus points are important in terms of separating teams in the league table. Bonus points could end up being the difference between making the top six or top four, and it’s definitely something we’re working on.”
Tickets for Saturday’s game are available by [**clicking here**][1].
[1]: https://www.eticketing.co.uk/newcastle-falcons/EDP/Event/Index/1652
