
Deano salutes players after bonus-point triumph
For the second season running the Falcons began their Aviva Premiership campaign with a home triumph, Richards saying: “I’m delighted to get a bonus point win in the first game of the season, and it’s a real positive.
“It’s a very happy changing room but the boys have said it’s all very well and it’s great to start with a win at home, but now we have to back it up with a win next week at Sale.”
Taking an early lead through Alex Tait and adding further tries through Kyle Cooper, Rob Vickers and Juan Pablo Socino, Richards said: “The boys went out and delivered today, so I’m really pleased with that.
“The first try was straight off the training paddock and we haven’t done that for a while, and you could say the same about the score from the driving line out – they were a couple of real positives.
“We defended well in the first half the guys put their bodies on the line, but we also defended smart and made some really good decisions, and that shows we have moved on from last year.
“We’ve changed our emphasis slightly from last season and the boys have worked very hard, and we’re improving year on year which we always aim to do. It’s going to be a long season, but getting a win early on is key.
“We have quite a few players also waiting to come back in and it’s a matter of weeks for some of them rather than months – they are not so far away.
“We will look at things tomorrow, have a chat about it, and see where we go from there.”