Home
DICKENS HAILS HIS EURO STARS
Head coach Alan Dickens was pleased with the efforts of his Newcastle Red Bulls side as Saturday’s 26-19 victory over Perpignan booked them a spot in the last 16 of the EPCR Challenge Cup.
The four-try triumph at Kingston Park saw tries from Christian Wade, Sammy Arnold, Elliott Obatoyinbo and George McGuigan, with Dickens quick to praise his charges.
“Overall, I thought it was a fantastic effort from our players, and I’m proud of them,” said the Newcastle boss, whose side end their group campaign in Wales on Friday against the Dragons.
“I thought Sammy Arnold’s try was probably the best piece of play we’ve put together all season, and we fronted up physically.
“There’ll be a few sore bodies tomorrow because the lads threw everything into this game, and I’m really pleased that their hard work is paying off.”
Dickens added: “There were a couple of occasions where we could have taken the game away from Perpignan, but unfortunately we couldn’t get them over the line.
“They held us up over the try-line when you felt it was game over if we’d grounded the ball, and to be fair they kept fighting until the end.
“There were a couple of key moments as well as our tries, and I thought Tom Gordon won a crucial turnover for us near our own try-line which helped seal the result.
“That was a real momentum-changer, and our attack began to click again. I thought Christian Wade looked sharp and took his try well, Tim Cardall came back into the second row and put in a shift, Elliott Obatoyinbo beat the first man almost every time and to be fair all the lads worked hard.
“Tom Christie was class, as he always is, and it was great to see young Oscar Usher recognised by the TV with his man of the match award at the end. He’s from our area, which is big for us, and he’s seized his chance.
“That was a meaty French pack today, but we stood up to the test. We scored from the maul and didn’t concede any from it, and our scrum I would say was on top. That’s testament to the players and the detail that Micky Ward and Scott MacLeod are bringing in training, so it’s great to see it translating into the games.”
Aiming to go through the group phase unbeaten as they prepare for Friday’s trip to South Wales, Dickens said: “We’ll drip-feed people in and out rather than making wholesale changes, and with the competitive nature of the squad people know they have to take their opportunities.
“Dragons have hit a bit of form and we won’t be underestimating them, so it should be a great contest.”
READ MORE
