'Scrambling' Newcastle Falcons 'need to work out how to win games’ - Rory Lawson

TNT Sports pundit Rory Lawson says there are encouraging signs for Newcastle under new head coach Alex Codling but that the club must find a way to get over the line after falling to a third successive defeat to start the Gallagher Premiership season.

The Falcons welcomed Northampton Saints to Kingston Park as both sides went in search of their first victory, and it was the visitors who held on to win 16-14 on a miserable evening on Tyneside.

Codling joined in the summer after helping French club Oyonnax win the Pro D2 regular season by 24 points and earn promotion into the Top 14 but has yet to taste success in the Premiership.

Lawson praised the "culture" Codling has created at his former club but said they need to win soon to "feel competitive" after being left rooted to the bottom of the table.

“He’s backing the youngsters,” Lawson said, live on TNT Sports. “He will turn up tomorrow morning, get ready to review this game and he will try and pick out the good things.

“From what I understand he's created a learning culture in Newcastle, one whereby the players are engaged within this process.

“They're going to learn fast. This is a young, inexperienced side, the Argentinians are going to come back and they'll bolster things. But they need to be able to work out how to win games, because that's the missing piece at the moment.

“You can give the positive messages, you can build a belief within the squad, you can bring positivity to the group and that sense of belonging. The next bit, you've got to be able to build wins to be able to get into the into this season, into the league and feel competitive.

“They've lost that by two points. Could they have won it? Yes, they certainly could have won it. Did they win it? No, they didn't.

“So they picked up a losing bonus but now they're scrambling that little bit and they've got to try and find something from somewhere over the next couple of weeks.”

Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Codling lamented the “missed opportunities” that his side let slip but praised his players for the effort they put in in brutal conditions.

“Of course, I'm gutted on the one hand, but massively proud on the other,” Codling said. “The boys’ fight, resilience without question again was on show today.

“I want to congratulate Northampton, very clinical - one chance, one score - and that's the Premiership. We just need something to roll for us but that's life.

“There's loads of positives from the game. Of course, there's missed opportunities, but fundamentally, we're a young group, we’re a group that’s learning, we don't have the experience of every other team in the Premiership, but that never puts me off a challenge.

“We are growing together and we've just going to make those little moments count, hopefully starting next week at Quins.”

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