Head coach Alex Codling praised the attacking instincts of his Newcastle Falcons side on Sunday as they ended their Premiership Rugby Cup campaign with a 66-13 home win over Caldy.

The Kingston Park clash saw the Falcons 26-8 up at half-time, more than doubling their tally in the second period in front of 4,214 supporters.

“I thought the boys showed real ambition today, and the weather was in our favour,” said Codling.

“One of the proudest moments as a coach is when you watch people making their debut, so to have the youngsters out there with 18 and 19-year-olds representing the Falcons is great for them and the club.

“Finn Baker in the second row was one such lad, and he reminds me of myself when I had hair!

“I’m just so proud to see the young lads out there, because they’re the future of this club. That’s really exciting and we’ve got some talented boys, so today was a good step for them to take.”

With a vibrant home crowd adding to the atmosphere, Codling said: “A big pat on the back for the commercial and community teams because it’s been a great day for the supporters.

“We’ve had a junior rugby festival in the morning featuring large numbers of local clubs, and then plenty for them to do when they’ve been staying on to watch our own game.

“It’s been great to see so many kids around the place and so many smiles on faces, and hopefully we can get them to come back during the season.

“I know how much this club means to so many people up here, and they’re the ones that are going to be coming down to Kingston Park watching their heroes in the future.”

Reflecting on the Premiership Rugby Cup campaign as a whole, the Falcons boss added: “Results elsewhere and last weekend’s defeat at Leicester meant we knew we couldn’t progress in the competition, but it’s still been a useful exercise.

“We’ve won four out of five games, we’ve used a lot of players and exposed a lot of youngsters to a higher level of rugby. It’s really important for their development, and as sad as it was to slip up in the key game last Saturday it’s still been a positive campaign overall.

“The boys bounced back really well today from what happened at Leicester, and now it’s all eyes on the start of the Gallagher Premiership down at Bath on Saturday.

“It’s going to be a massive test down at Bath – first and foremost just in terms of sheer physicality.

“Every week in the Gallagher Premiership will be the same but it’s a new group and a new coaching staff, so we’re going to go out and attack the competition in a really positive way.”

The Falcons’ first home game of the Gallagher Premiership season comes on Friday October 20 when Gloucester visit Kingston Park.

Click here to book tickets for the 6pm kick-off, and stay on to watch the Rugby World Cup semi-final at 8pm on the TVs in the stadium bars.