Bristol bonus a positive for Diamond
Newcastle Falcons boss Steve Diamond credited his side for their attacking bonus point following Sunday’s 55-35 Gallagher Premiership defeat at Bristol Bears.
Speaking after the Ashton Gate clash, the director of rugby said: “We went 21-0 down then finally got off the bus, and I thought from a poor start we came back and showed a lot of character.
“Previously this team might have rolled over at that point, but Chicky led the side well and I thought we came back into it, scoring five tries against a good side.
“We’ve not scored five tries in a Premiership game for a while, and we were in the scrap for long periods. We gave away a couple of silly offsides which cost us territory and points, but we had them under pressure.”
Shipping three late tries having gone down to 14 men, Diamond added: “Obviously the sin bin for Alex Hearle had an impact and they ran in three quick tries during that spell, and from being a close game it looks like a blow-out.
“A class side like them will always make the extra man count, but there were a lot of positives and a good attacking bonus point, so we’ve just got to take it and move on.
“There were a couple of juicy refereeing decisions which I won’t bother talking about because there’s no point picking a fight you can’t win – especially when you’re bottom of the league.
“We’ll now move into the Prem Cup where we’ve done really well this season, and we’ve got a good game at Doncaster next weekend. That’s one we’ll look forward to, and I’ll be sending a very similar side to the one that played today.
“It’s a while now until our next Premiership game and we may be able to add to our squad in terms of recruitment before the end of the season, and we should have three or four good players back from injury.
“We’ve got a couple of massive home games and a cracking trip down to Exeter which will be a real pressure game, and the lads are definitely up for the fight.”