Palframan refreshed and eager for Bath challenge
The prop-forward and his squad return to Gallagher Premiership action for the first time in three weeks following their bye weekend and the cancellation of their trip to Wasps, Palframan explaining it has been a mixture of recovery and graft since their 32-31 loss at Northampton.
“That first week was a bit of a recharge with the guys getting a few days off, and the Prem Cup boys obviously got that great win down at Leicester,” said the former Worcester player, who has made 12 appearances in just over a season on Tyneside.
“We’ve then had a two-week build-up into the Bath game this Saturday due to not playing against Wasps, and the boys have been working hard.
“It’s been nice having that extra preparation time because it’s allowed us to work on the kind of things which you don’t always get the chance to when you’re going from match to match.
“We’ve been developing our game and just trying to get better in all areas, although from a personal perspective the break probably hasn’t come at a great time.
“I hadn’t played a lot of rugby prior to the last couple, and I’m a guy who likes to have that match sharpness. Obviously there’ll be boys who have played a load of games in a short space of time and will have been glad of that little bit of a refresh, so hopefully we’ll see the benefit when we get back into it.”
Reflecting on a chaotic but entertaining game at Northampton last time out in the league, the South African-born scrummager said: “It’s great for rugby and for the supporters when you get those mad games where anything can and does happen, and it’s good fun to be involved in.
“Obviously as players and coaches you want a greater degree of control, and there were patches in the game where we let ourselves down.
“To have those lapses and still put ourselves in with a position of winning the game just shows what we’re capable of when we get things right, and despite the disappointment around the result we still played some great rugby at times and came away with two bonus points.”
Up against a Bath side who had to wait until their most recent game to record their first win of the season, Palframan said: “Every team in the Premiership can beat the other on their day, and Bath have been quite close this season in a number of the games they’ve lost.
“That victory was always coming and they’ve finally got it under their belts, but we’re back at home on Saturday and looking forward to getting out there.
“Hopefully we’ll get a decent crowd on Saturday, and it makes such a difference to the boys. Our fans turn up and make a lot of noise, we know opposition teams don’t like coming here and it’s great to get out there every time we play at Kingston Park.
“We have to make sure we do our job firstly to secure the result, and importantly as well just to offer some sort of reward to the supporters who come out each week to help us.”
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