RICHARDS LEFT FRUSTRATED WITH GLOUCESTER DEFEAT
The Newcastle Falcons boss watched on as his side let slip a half-time lead to eventually lose 22-16 at an atmospheric Kingston Park.
Picking up a losing bonus point ahead of next weekend’s trip to Worcester Warriors, Richards was in no mood to settle for consolation.
“I think it’s a disappointing day,” said the Falcons director of rugby.
“There were points available for us other than the bonus and we didn’t take them. For 25 minutes we played exceptionally well, but we took our foot off the gas and let them in. If we had shown more control we wouldn’t have been in the position we were in at the end,” he added.
Newcastle got off to a flying start with a try as early as the first minute courtesy of winger Tom Catterick, who was assisted by Ally Hogg on the overlap.
Despite their emphatic start to the contest, the Falcons faded towards the end of the first-half and failed to get out of the blocks after the interval. A late surge towards the line almost culminated in a dramatic late try for the northeasterners, but the day belonged to the Cherry and Whites.
Richards said: “We had a lot of possession but we just didn’t know how to use it. If you can’t do that, you will never win a game.
“You have to replicate that time and time again, and unfortunately we don’t seem to be able to do that time and time again. That comes back to control and energy as well.”
