Falcons respond in style but miss bonus

THREE tries in an improved second-half performance at Stade Pierre-Fabre put Newcastle into the qualifying spots for the knock-out stages.

- LUKE JARMYN

Scrum-half Sam Stuart, full-back Tom Arscott and No.8 Josh Basham all scored as Falcons overturned a 10-9 half-time deficit, yet they made hard work of what should have been a bonus-point victory.

But having bounced back from their first competitive defeat in 18 months, to Cardiff Blues last week, coach James Ponton was satisfied with the result.

“I’m very pleased overall with the way the lads went,” he said. “We had five guys making debuts, they all played well and it’s a great experience for them.

“Castres had a good start but the boys stuck in, it wasn’t easy out there. It was a great test, but we came through.

“We stuck to what we’d been practicing all week, about moving the ball one more pass away. We knew that would be the undoing of Castres, and it paid dividends in the end.”