Richards frustrated by errors as Bath triumph
Dean Richards was critical of his Newcastle players for making more errors than in any other match this season and their lack of discipline after the Falcons slumped to a 38-19 Gallagher Premiership defeat against Bath.
Stuart Hooper’s visitors ran in six tries on Tyneside to inflict a second consecutive loss on their mid-table rivals.
The Falcons had two of their matches in February postponed because of a coronavirus outbreak but Richards insists that is no excuse for a rusty display.
The Newcastle boss said: “It was error-strewn from the start and it just continued. It was probably the most errors we’ve made in any game this season.
“The penalties just kept on mounting throughout the game. It puts unnecessary pressure on the team and against a team like Bath, you will get punished.
“We were the most disciplined side in the league but today we didn’t show that and gave away what seemed like 20 penalties. It was frustrating the number of penalties we gave away.
“We conceded six shortrange tries, which was from the strength of the Bath pack, but at the same time I think we made them look good. We weren’t at the races today.
“There’s been a huge change since Christmas. We’ve hardly trained at all and Bath have been playing consistently. We can’t use that as an excuse, though.
“This week we have trained all week and it’s probably the first time that we have been able to train fully for about five weeks now.”
Sam Underhill, Zach Mercer, Henry Thomas, Jack Walker and Tom Dunn (two) all crossed for Bath to haul them level on points with Falcons in the table.
Trevor Davison, Tom Penny and a penalty try made the scoreline more respectable for Newcastle but Bath, currently riding the crest of a Premiership wave after a recent resurgence, clinched their fourth win in five matches. The result moved them up to eighth.
Exeter fought back from 13 points behind for a second week running to see off a determined effort from Harlequins and hang on to second place in the table.
A Danny Care-inspired Quins performance, based on some superb defensive work, looked like inflicting a third loss in four home games on the reigning European and Premiership champions.
However, two tries in the final quarter saw Exeter turn the game on its head to win 21-20, with the second from Dave Ewers marking his 150th Premiership and European appearance for the Devon side.
Teimana Harrison scored on his return from injury as Northampton recorded a vital 17-14 victory over Sale that put their Gallagher Premiership play-off hopes back on track.
Harrison, who had been out for over two months with hand and groin troubles, grabbed Saints’ only try of the game, to add to four penalties from the boot of James Grayson.
Leicester moved up to sixth with a 20-14 win at Gloucester.