Walder credits Cardiff after European lesson
The Falcons boss said: “We were beaten by the better side – a very experienced Cardiff team full of internationals.
“We were disappointed with the first half, we spoke about fixing some things in the second half, which I think we did during those early moments, but it wasn’t enough.
“Cardiff got into our 22 four times more than we did into theirs, but they came away with 47 points from those visits, and that’s the difference.
“What we were doing in the respective 22s just wasn’t good enough, both in defence and attack, and we were put to the sword by a good team. There are a lot of learning points for our guys, and naturally we’re really disappointed.”
Reflecting on a European fortnight which also saw a defeat at Connacht, Walder added: “It’s been important to get game time for some of our players as we look to the back half of the season, and the boys will benefit long term from the experience.
“It might not feel like that at the moment because guys are hurting after a pretty tough lesson, but they now know how a big a step up they need to take. They will be better for it in the long run, and we’ll look to kick on for the rest of the season now.
“Cardiff were class across the pitch, to be fair to them.
“Rhys Priestland controlled things really well as you’d expect from an international ten, Taulupe Faletau hit some brilliant lines and showed why he’s so smart, and overall they just did some really intelligent things.”
Turning attention towards Friday’s Gallagher Premiership visit of northern rivals Sale Sharks, the Falcons boss said: “The Premiership is relentless but that’s what makes it such a great league, and we’re looking forward to getting back into it against Sale on Friday.
“It’s a short turnaround – even shorter for Sale, to be fair – and we’ll be looking forward to a much-improved performance and result in front of what will hopefully be a decent crowd.”
[**Click here**][1] to book tickets for the 7.45pm kick-off.
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