Deano salutes first-half intensity
Chalking up the four-try bonus point before half-time and maintaining their 12-point lead at the top of the Greene King IPA Championship, Richards said: “We challenged the boys to go absolutely all-out during the first half, and to be fair to them they did that.
“We’ve been producing some really good first-half performances but not backing them up in the second half, and again we were still a little bit disjointed today after half-time.
“That’s life, though, and we’ll look to find the answer. What I can’t take away from is some of the rugby we played in that opening 40, which was absolutely superb to watch.”
Giving the crowd some real razzle dazzle at times in a coherent attacking display, Richards said: “It doesn’t always happen that a prop throws a through-the-legs pass and a hooker sells a dummy for a try, but when it does you just have to say ‘well played’ and appreciate the fact the boys have the confidence to try those things.
“Some of our loose passing did cost us at other points during the game so you have to take the rough with the smooth, but I’d be more disappointed if the boys didn’t have the ambition to try things like that when it’s on.”
Missing out on a defensive zero after allowing one late try to their visitors, the Falcons’ boss said: “Our defence was very well organised today, although to be honest we’re all bitterly disappointed we conceded a try because we felt the clean sheet was there for the taking.
“That one try was through our own errors in giving them the scoring opportunity to play where they did do, and if we’d been a little more clinical in the second half in terms of playing in the right areas then it might have been a different story.
“That’s probably me being hyper-critical and not giving the Pirates the justice they deserve, and I do have to say they’re a good team. They’re far better than 40-0, and I’ll certainly acknowledge that.”
With the Falcons’ bench men highlighted for praise, Richards took time to mention the impact of replacement hooker Jamie Blamire, among others.
“We’ve been critical of Jamie’s line-outs in recent times but I thought he nailed it today, and if anything was a little bit off it was the calling rather than the throwing,” he said.
“Our scrums, other than the last one at the end of the game, were totally dominant, and I was really pleased with the impact the bench lads made when they came on.”
Taking a break from the league for a week as they prepare for Saturday’s Championship Cup quarter-final at home to London Scottish, Richards is in no mood to allow the Falcons’ momentum to slow down.
“There’s no easing of the pressure this week at all, because our mind-set is all about winning,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s the league, the cup or whatever, we just want to win every single time we take the field.
“The bus is on the right road when you look at 19 wins in a row, but we’ve changed our training week recently because we felt our intensity wasn’t quite high enough.
“I think that showed during the first half today, and the next step for us is to keep operating at that level for something much closer to 80 minutes.”
Newcastle Falcons’ next game is on Saturday when they host London Scottish in the quarter-finals of the Championship Cup. Season ticket members are reminded that this game is not included in their package. Please [click here][1] for full ticketing details.
[1]: https://www.newcastlefalcons.co.uk/news/story/ticket-details-for-saturdays-cup-quarter-final
