Bates happy despite Cup loss

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.