Petrarca Padova 27 Newcastle Falcons 29

NEWCASTLE Falcons’ Director of Rugby Steve Bates declared himself satisfied with the result, if not the performance, as Newcastle started their Amlin Challenge Cup campaign with a 29-27 win away to Italian side Petrarca Padova.

Tries from Ed Williamson, Laurence Ovens, Danny Williams and Micky Young sent them on their way at a rain-soaked Stadio Plebiscito, with Bates stating: “It’s a bonus point win, and we’ll take it.

“At 2pm we were arriving at the ground looking forward to an excited by the prospect of some good running rugby... and then the heavens opened!

“I’ve never seen rain like it and while it’s the same for both sides we just didn’t adapt well enough to the conditions.

“Our precision was not where we wanted it to be and we handed Padova some soft tries.

“But ultimately we stuck together and hung on for the result.

“That’s the main thing – we won the game, got the bonus point and are now top of the group.

“From a performance point of view there is certainly a lot to work on.

“But we’ve got that first win of the season now and hopefully it can prove to be a real catalyst as we look to the remainder of the campaign.”