Steve Bates was happy with his side's performance despite seeing Newcastle go down 19-8 to Harlequins at Kingston Park.
Falcons boss pleased with youngsters after Harlequins defeat
Steve Bates was happy with his side's performance despite seeing Newcastle go down 19-8 to Harlequins at Kingston Park.
Defeat means the Falcons have lost both their opening LV= Cup matches but Bates had taken the opportunity to blood several youngsters and saw plenty of positives to take out of the match.
"This has been a great opportunity for our young players to get out there and learn a bit about first-team rugby," he said.
"It was a bit scrappy, they played better in the first half than we did but we did better as it went on and scored a good try at the end."
Bates felt Harlequins number eight Tom Guest was the difference between the sides.
"He was the outstanding player on the park and gave them a lot of direction," the Newcastle boss added.
Sam Smith's try midway through the first-half put daylight between the two sides while Rory Clegg kicked four penalties, although the former Falcons fly-half did miss with three other attempts.
