Connon braced for Exeter Chiefs’ physicality on Friday
The fly-half kicked the winning points just over a year ago when the Falcons enjoyed their first ever away win over the Devon side.
And despite kicking five from five in Newcastle’s last league game, a 27-21 away win at Gloucester, Connon is ready for the attritional challenge posed by the Chiefs in Friday’s 7.45pm kick-off.
“You know what you’re going to get with Exeter, and they play a good brand of rugby,” he said.
“They’re a big physical pack with threats right across the board, and we obviously know Josh Hodge from his time up here with us.
“We had a good away win down there last season – our first ever victory at Exeter – so we know we can do it.
“The pre-requisite is making sure that you turn up with the right mind-set for the physical battle, and once you’ve got that base line you need to make sure your tactical side is tidied up.
“We did both of those things down at Gloucester in our last league game, and when our backs were against the wall we stuck together to get the result.”
Well aware that the mental side of the game also has a big part to play, Connon added: “It’s hard in a way to explain how you can go from the Bath performance a week earlier to the Gloucester performance, but I think it comes down to small details.
“We actually started alright against Bath but it was our own errors which allowed them back into the game, whereas at Gloucester those problems got bottled up or stamped on straightaway.
“We pride ourselves on our attitude, which was a big part of the problem against Bath, but at Gloucester everybody was spot-on and we found a way to deal with the challenges which inevitably get thrown at you during a game.”
Read the full in-depth interview with Brett Connon in Friday’s FREE digital match programme.
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