An accurate assessment by Richards
NEWCASTLE director of rugby Dean Richards said a lack of accuracy proved pivotal as his side went 30-13 down at Bath.
Richards’ men are five points adrift of Worcester Warriors, who they play at Kingston Park in a fortnight’s time.
The Falcons will have to work harder on “the little things which account for a lot” if they are to improve their Gallagher Premierhip position.
Richards had no problems pinpointing where his side came up short at The Rec, saying: “We had a line-out five metres from their line and we overthrew it.
“They are the little things which account for a lot.
“It is the understanding how to nail those on a more regular basis, which we need to do.
“The boys tried hard. They do, week in, week out. That is never an issue.
“Bath had an unbelievable side on paper so the boys fronted up.
“Had we been a little bit more accurate we might have taken something away from it.
“We probably spent more time in their 22 than they did in ours, so they are either scoring too easily or we are not accurate enough in ours.”
Richards denied the Worcester fixture is shaping up to be especially decisive and said he was not looking beyond next weekend’s visit to Exeter.
He added: “Every game going into the end of the season is a big game – next week, the week after or the week after that.” ■■NEWCASTLE Thunder were on the wrong side of a 32-26 scoreline in the opening round of the 2019 Betfred League One season as a determined Doncaster took the points at Kingston Park.
Thunder had appeared to be en-route to a comfortable opening day-triumph after assuming a 22-4 half-time lead.
However, a combination of errors and indiscipline in the face of a Doncaster fightback resulted in a disappointing defeat.