Walder proud of his battling Falcons
Despite twice going down to 13 men the Falcons hung on in a Kingsholm classic, with Walder saying: “Last week against Bath wasn’t a true reflection of ourselves, but today was one of the proudest days of my coaching career.
“We changed a few things in our preparation, I thought Micky Ward and Scott MacLeod prepared the forwards brilliantly and Mark Laycock and Mark Wilson were also great in the work they did with the team.
“It obviously wasn’t the plan to have four guys in the sin bin, but when you’re down to 13 men it’s just about character and having that desire to defend the spaces which are inevitably going to be around the field.”
Walder added: “Our attitude was the polar opposite of last week, the players were outstanding and we needed that.
“We stopped their maul, which is a big part of coming down here, and as I say Micky, Scotty and Wils have been superb in how they’ve worked with the pack this week, as well as Marko with the backs.
“When we defended two men down and were out in our feet, the boys just dug deep and did it for each other and our fans. The unity among the group is tremendous and I’m delighted for the boys.
“They fronted up, they hung on when we were under the pump and I can’t speak highly enough of them. You can have all the coaching plans you want, but sometimes it’s just about manning up and scrambling like your lives depend on it.”
