Director of rugby Steve Diamond said Newcastle Falcons’ inability to defend the driving maul was their undoing after Friday’s 38-14 home loss to Harlequins.

Having got to within three points of their Gallagher Premiership visitors going into the closing 15 minutes the Falcons were made to pay the price for failing to halt Quins’ maul, much to Diamond’s displeasure.

“If you can’t defend a maul then you’re not going to win a game of rugby,” lamented the Falcons boss.

“I’m the most disappointed I’ve been since I took this job, because that game was there for the taking.

“Just after the hour mark we were three points down and right in the contest, despite admittedly not playing particularly well. But we couldn’t defend the maul, and for some reason we continued kicking the ball off the field and giving them line-outs, despite knowing that was their danger area.

“They were just going penalty, kick to the corner, drive, score – and as you can tell I’m incredibly disappointed.

“There was a lot of hard work and effort went in out there – not just the team preparation during the week, but getting the crowd in, the sponsors, the TV being here and everything around it.

“Biggest attendance of the season and we couldn’t get a result. It looks like a cricket score, to be honest, which doesn’t tell the full story. But as I say, if you can’t defend a maul then you’re not going to win at this level.”

Diamond added: “It was men against boys in certain areas of the game, and our discipline, which has been so good, let us down badly. From averaging eight penalties a game we gave away 13, and a team like Quins will put you away with those kinds of numbers.

“The players are as disappointed as I am, and I’m not hammering the lads here. They go out and give their all for this club, and there are some battered and bloodied bodies in that changing room.

“We were good enough to be within three points going into the last 15 or 16 minutes, but we allowed the score to blow out. I know the supporters will be frustrated, and I totally get it.

“We can either shut up shop now half-way through the season, or go back to basics and start again. That’s what we’ll have to do on Monday morning, because we’re not a team who give up.”