Newcastle Falcons head coach Alex Codling credited the ambition and endeavour of his side despite starting the Gallagher Premiership season with a 34-26 loss at Bath.

Tries from Ben Stevenson, Matias Orlando and Jamie Blamire, plus the boot of Brett Connon, saw them pushing the West Country side all the way, with Codling saying afterwards: “There was a lot to be proud of.

“I loved our mind-set to attack, our courage and tenacity, and I thought the game swung on a couple of key incidents.

“One of those was when we thought we had scored, and on another day we get that decision, and then we concede a try quickly after to make it a 14-point swing.

“To a man, the lads showed huge desire. They stuck to the plan, and ultimately I’m disappointed and sad for them that they weren’t rewarded with the result.”

Buoyed on by a vocal away following, Codling said: “I also want to thank the supporters who made the trip all the way down here, because they were brilliant in getting behind the team.

“We feel like we deserved something from the game but we didn’t get it, so we’ll just have to make sure on Friday against Gloucester we convert all that good work into a result.

“I take loads of positives from the day, and the biggest challenge is executing our chances.

“There were loads of good learning points and I’m really enthused by the effort and ambition of the boys.

“Having two yellow cards is always going to make things tough, but I loved our intent to play. On a couple of occasions we perhaps forced one pass too many, but I can’t fault the lads too much.

“I’m never happy losing, but there’s loads we can build on and I’m really looking forward now to Friday at home to Gloucester.”

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