Big win, but Richards is not getting too excited
FALCONS’ BOSS INSISTS THE VICTORY IS PARKED - AND FOCUS IS ON MONTPELLIER
NEWCASTLE director of rugby Dean Richards refused to get carried away with his side’s 26-25 win over three-time winners Toulon at Stade Felix Mayol as they returned to the Heineken Champions Cup with a bang.
It was their first time in the top tier of European club rugby for 13 years and it was a brutal return to the competition as they fell behind in just 21 seconds.
It was Romain Taofifenua who scored the try as the hosts raced into a 10-0 lead after seven minutes - but the Falcons showed character to come back and lead 16-10 at the break.
Toulon lost three players to the sin bin to the Falcons’ one but still battled back to lead 25-23 in the second half.
In the end it was a penalty from in front of the posts from Joel Hodgson which won the game - only the second time this season the Falcons have tasted victory.
“I say every time it is not not where you are at the start of a competition, it is where you are at the end that counts,” said Richards.
“Sunday was a notable victory which is right up there with any other but it is only one victory and we have to now go out and back it up against Montpellier on Sunday.
“We hve already parked it, the players have moved on to the next game and we know Montpellier will be a massive test. They are a little bit like Toulon and it will be a hard game - and after today they will certainly not take us lightly.”
It was Newcastle’s first win on French soil in the tournament at the fourth attempt and was only Toulon’s second home defeat at Stade Felix Mayol in Europe, with their previous setback against Saracens two years ago. Richards added: “It was a heck of a game, the boys threw everything at it and it was fantastic we came through and got the win we deserved in the end.
“Our defence was strong, we played in the right areas and the tactics from the boys were outstanding.
“We got it right and the players should take a huge amount of credit.
“There were a lot of lads out there who had never played Champions Cup rugby and they did not look out of place at all.
“Toulon were probably a bit disjointed at times and did not show a lot of patience but we did not allow them to string together anything more than five or six phases at a time. They were a dangerous team and we had to be on our mettle, which thankfully we were.
“We looked at what the crowd was going to offer on the day, we prepared for that side of it with videos and audio and the boys were prepared for it.
“None of the boys froze, they were all magnificent and the thing now is to make sure it is not a one-off.”