Steve Diamond insists there is still more to come from his Newcastle Red Bulls side after starting their new era with a bonus-point win in front of their biggest ever cup crowd.

Friday’s 26-14 PREM Rugby Cup triumph over Harlequins was played out in front of 9,089 supporters at a vibrant Kingston Park, with the director of rugby saying: “There’s a different energy in the building.

“The crowd were a big factor, the environment is really positive and the last 34 days have been very different.

“It’s definitely an advantage having a fan-base like that, and this was an important night for us with being the start of the whole Red Bull era.”

Forced to grind against a determined Harlequins side, the Newcastle boss said: “In the first half we made something like 100 tackles and missed two, and our defence is something we’ve really worked on over the summer.

“We missed a couple of opportunities in attack but we scored four tries on the night and created some good chances, so I’m happy overall.

“The weather turned at half-time, which probably helped us, if I’m honest.

“We don’t mind a bit of rain and wind on a Friday night up here, and you get every weather system in the Met Office over the course of 80 minutes at Kingston Park.

“Take nothing away from Quins – they’re a good side and they didn’t make it easy for us.

“We’ll see them in the league in the next couple of months, and they’re the games that everyone really looks for, but we’ll take the positives tonight and look to improve further as we go.”

Asked for the main plus points, Diamond said: “I thought the young lads who came through our academy fronted up well, like Oli Spencer, Nathan Greenwood, and captained well by George McGuigan who was a deserved man of the match.

“Naki Mafi at No.8 – I tried to sign him five years in a row when I was at Sale, and I’ve finally got him – I think he started to show the kind of handful we know he will be.

“The new signings showed up well, and we’ve got a load more to come in over the next few weeks.

“They’ll not walk into the side, mind, because the lads tonight made a claim on those shirts, and that’s the kind of healthy competition you want in a squad.

“We’ll not go overboard, we’ll take our win and move on, and we’ll be back in on Monday morning putting in a good build-up for Saracens at home in a fortnight.”