Bath coach Steve Meehan heaped praise on his players after they came from 14-0 down at half-time against Newcastle to win 15-14.
Coach proud of players after Kingston Park comeback
Bath coach Steve Meehan heaped praise on his players after they came from 14-0 down at half-time against Newcastle to score 15 unanswered points at Kingston Park.
The win keeps Bath in the running for the play-offs with the possibility of a home berth in one of the semi-finals.
Michael Claassens and Shontayne Hape crossed in the last 15 minutes and Ryan Davis added a crucial penalty to stun the home fans on Falcons' final home game of the season.
"They were brilliant," Meehan said of his players. "This is a difficult place to come and win.
"I thought it was a great exercise in character and belief and being able to switch things around at half-time.
"We recognised what we weren't doing well and changed.
"The guys worked through not an ideal first half and they left it all to do in the last 40 minutes. So I thought it was a tremendous example of what we are capable of.
"The objective is to win next week and if we win, and win well enough, to get the home semi would be terrific."
Field position
Newcastle director of rugby Steve Bates couldn't fault his players despite the agonising defeat.
"We had to absorb a lot of pressure and if they had a kicker whose percentages were anywhere near reasonable we would have been out of the game in the first 10 minutes," he said.
"But I was proud of the players' effort. We just didn't really create enough field position in that second half to worry Bath enough and they put us under a lot of pressure.
"I expected Bath to come back at us they have some very good quality players - but it was a really spirited effort in the second half and we didn't quite manage to keep them out."
Bates singled out 20-year-old Mickey Young for praise after he scored one of the Falcons' two first-half tries.
"He is a really exciting young player," he said. "He has a lot to learn and we have said all along, playing against top scrum-halves in this league will improve him as a player.
"He is capable of playing at that (Saxons level)."
