"We've got to be on the ball, we don't want another loss" – Steve Diamond aims to iron out Newcastle Falcons' creases ahead of Challenge Cup battle wi
12/13/2024 04:44 AM
By Harvey Allen
Newcastle Falcons host the Dragons at Kingston Park in the second round of the Challenge Cup, following their round one loss to Section Paloise. Dragons have won only one game this season and sit at the bottom of the URC standings, with a loss in their European opener as well.
However, Steve Diamond refused to underestimate the Welsh side: "The first thing is we're at home, and we have to win at home. Newport Dragons are a good side, the URC is a good competition.
"We will respect that they move the ball around quite a lot and some really experienced players, good forward pack, so it’ll be a real tough game. We’ve got to be on the ball, we don’t want another loss."
When asked if he was keeping an eye on their following opponents in the Premiership, Diamond replied: "We’ve not got one eye on Bath, we're not good enough to do that. We've got Dragons and all our focus will be on that. If we can win that, ultimately we can still progress through this competition."
Following a string of two Premiership wins in their last three matches, Steve Diamond's Falcons side hoped to make an impact in their first European match away in Pau, however failed to do so on a cold, stormy weekend in France.
Diamond voiced his frustration: "We should have won the game. Now, we've come a long way over the last three months, but I think we had a couple of opportunities to score in the last five or six minutes and we didn’t do it.
"Having a day or two to think about it, we'd been quite stern with the squad this morning about it, if we're going to be a good team, we're going to have to put those teams away. I think it would have been a really good opportunity to build on the confidence of another win, away from home in France, which are difficult."
He continued: "But again, we're positive. There were a lot of real good things in it. Attitude was unbelievable, a lot of lads playing 80 minutes, the bench came on and made a big difference, and we look forward to Dragons this weekend."
The post "We’ve got to be on the ball, we don’t want another loss" – Steve Diamond aims to iron out Newcastle Falcons’ creases ahead of Challenge Cup battle with Dragons appeared first on Ruck.
