Fans on a high

side ended Friday’s match, Richards is pleased with his side’s efforts on both sides of the ball, praising defensive coach John Wells.

Next weekend, his side will get a proper inspection of their defensive capabilities when they face defending champions Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park.

Asked whether that trip would be the acid test for the Falcons, he replied: “Without a doubt and if we play as we did in the second half today, we’ll get thumped.

“I think the players are aware of that as well, so we can’t go into next week’s game with the same attitude as today because we’ll concede a lot of points and not score very many.”

He added: “It’s not a place where we’ve had much success, and neither has anybody else over the last few years, so in other words we’ve got absolutely nothing to lose next week and we’ll just see what happens.”