Lawson looking for more than bonus points
Scott Lawson is challenging his Newcastle Falcons team mates to start turning performances into results after describing himself as “gutted” by his team’s 12 – 16 Aviva Premiership Rugby loss to Leicester Tigers.
For the second time in a week, the Falcons outscored much vaunted opposition in the try stakes, but had to settle for a losing bonus point for the efforts and it is a situation that Lawson and his team mates want to change.
Speaking post match, Lawson said: “I think the result speaks for itself and it is the same sort of things that keep on coming back and biting us. Leicester weren’t really threatening us until the last five minutes, but then we didn’t really threaten them either.”
It’s very disappointing, I think if you look back to this time last year, you were happy with the performance, but we’re gutted now, we’ve grown as a squad and as a team and we need to take that next step to continue to grow, or whatever other cliché you would like to use.”
Acknowledging the performance of the Tigers, Lawson insisted that the Falcons should have taken more from the game, highlighting his sides first half performance as evidence.
“We played the most rugby today and in my view, we were the better team. We play a great brand of rugby, we stretch teams and we throw the ball about within our structure and Sinoti’s try proves that it works, but again, it’s a losing bonus point today and although Leicester have a proven record for winning games, we now need to start using that to turn into results. If we had kept up what we were doing in the first half, then we would have come away with the result.”
With an enforced rest period as the league takes a two week break for the LV= Cup knock out stages, the players have an opportunity to prepare for big games in the season run in, including home dates against Bath and Harlequins and an away European Challenge Cup Quarter Final at Exeter.
While physically, that period of recuperation may be welcome, from a mental point of view the Scottish international would much rather be back into action this coming weekend.
“You’d rather go again, play next week and go for that win. The break does allow us a bit of time to take stock, recharge the body, but mentally it would be good to be straight back out there and work on doing what we do and play that for a full eighty minutes.”
