Diamond: Our character was commendable

NEWCASTLE boss Steve Diamond praised his side for their response against Sale following last week’s chastening 85-14 defeat to Bristol.

“I was interested in how we would respond to last week – you can put skill into people, upskill them and put knowledge into them, but you can’t teach character,” said the Falcons’ consultant director of rugby after the 35-14 loss to the Sharks.

“I think the character the squad has shown after last week is commendable. There are some positives out of this week.

“The game was a combination of us wearing out and them having a bench that came on and made the difference.

“Similar to the Leicester game – we bring it level and then we mess it up on a basic, receiving of a kick-off which gives them pressure.

“We then lose a ball five metres out from a scrum which is unheard of these days, then they score a try. We’ll look at ourselves, give credit to Sale – they came and did a job – and we move on to Bath in a fortnight.”

Meanwhile, Sharks captain Ben Curry believes Sale are in a “good place” again stretching their winning streak to three league matches.

Sharks had looked to be out of the top-four race but bonus-point wins over Exeter, Harlequins and Falcons have kept them in the hunt and two points off a play-off place.

Every game is a must-win with Sharks’ fate out of their own hands, but ahead of their final matches against Leicester and Saracens, Curry believes they can pull off a dramatic turnaround.

“I feel like we’re getting better each game, so from that point of view I feel like we’re in a good place,” he said.

“It’s so simple for us at times when there’s no ifs, buts and maybes – you have to come out and act as though there’s no next week in terms of the Premiership.

“I feel like we’re a team with our backs against the wall, like we’ve got no option but to do it. Apart from that, we’re in a good place.”

Tries from Curry, who was on the scoresheet for the third game in a row, and Joe Carpenter put the Sharks in control before scores from Guy Pepper and Tim Cardall dragged Falcons level.

But the Sharks pulled away and Curry added: “I think any place where I haven’t won – I know they didn’t have a great result last weekend – is a tough place to go.

I don’t think the scoreline reflects the game, I think it reflects how well we responded to Newcastle. In terms of the general game, I thought it was more even than the scoreline reflected.”