Saracens boss Brendan Venter credited his side's 58-15 mauling of Newcastle down to a bonding trip to Brighton.
Coach reveals trip to Brighton did Saracens world of good
Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter credited his side's 58-15 mauling of Newcastle Falcons down to a recent bonding trip to Brighton.
Sarries ran in seven tries at Vicarage Road as they emphatically snapped a four game losing streak at the expense of below-par Newcastle.
Schalk Brits (2), Ernst Joubert (2), Noah Cato, Andy Saull and Richard Haughton all crossed for the hosts, who remain third with the win.
Speaking after the game, Venter revealed how a bonding night out in Brighton had proved the catalyst to the change of fortunes.
He said: "The guys really got stuck in today.
"We went to Brighton for two days, and it's amazing what that kind of time together can do. We had a great night out and this happens.
Superb
"All the coaching doesn't work, then we go have a few beers and score seven tries. Okay, just a joke guys. But that break did us a lot of good.
"Referees are helping the fact the rugby is opening up. I've had some difficult times in this chair talking about referees, but now they are freeing up things at the breakdown, favouring the attacking teams, they are a major factor in why rugby is becoming more exciting.
"It's not just about chucking the ball around, it does not work like that. We managed the game superbly, particularly through Glen Jackson, Neil de Kock and Ernst Joubert.
"And where we were conceding penalties at scrum-time in recent defeats, that wasn't evident today. You analyse problems, you work on them and you improve.
"We face some very tough games now, going to Northampton, to Leicester, to Gloucester.
"But I look forward to that because this team can beat any team in the country when we get things right."
Turning his focus to player acquisitions, Venter added: "I have heard talk that there is some doubt about Northampton prop Soane Tonga'uiha joining us this season.
"But he has signed a contract and is coming to Saracens. I don't know anything different. Nobody makes you sign a contract, it's a player's decision."
Fly-half Jimmy Gopperth notched four penalties and a drop-goal but Falcons rugby director Steve Bates was bitterly disappointed after the crushing defeat.
Comprehensive beating
He said: "(It was a) comprehensive beating. Out-thought, out-fought and missed tackles for two tries knocked the stuffing out of us.
"Saracens were on their game and played extremely well. But those tries affected us badly because we were chasing the game thereafter.
"We talked about working our way back into the game and keeping the ball longer. But they had a lot of quality players out there and they all turned up.
"We said at the interval that we must not panic, but we finished up shellshocked. That result simply does not reflect the hard work and quality in our squad. But we haven't played as badly as that all year while Saracens probably produced their best display.
"We were knocked out of our stride by the sheer speed at which they played. We were taken by surprise, then came the mistakes and it wasn't long before we were being forced to play going backwards."
The Falcons remain fourth-from-bottom after the loss and Bates has now called for focus for the remainder of the season.
"This battle in the bottom four is now going to be very intense, but it's actually a good thing that this week we have a Wednesday night clash with Gloucester so we can get back in action faster than usual," he said.
"We've got to analyse this, put things in perspective and ensure that confidence is restored. Our best bet is to actually forget about today well before kick-off on Wednesday.
"We have a lot of heavy hearts in our changing room, but it happens in sport that at some stage you come off the back off a hiding and the test of character is how you deal with that hiding."
