NEWCASTLE Falcons might have lost their opening LV=Cup group game by a 26- point margin, but director of rugby Steve Bates claims the tournament’s convoluted format means they are still on track for a semi-final place.

Newcastle are in Pool Two of the new-look Anglo-Welsh competition, but in order to guarantee two home games and two away games for each side, the tournament’s schedule pits them against the four sides in Pool Three.

Teams in the same group do not play against each other, and while Falcons kicked off this year’s competition with a deserved 32-6 defeat at Worcester, none of the sides in their group won their opening fixture.

A win in Saturday’s home game with Harlequins could therefore see Newcastle topping their group ahead of matches against Cardiff Blues and Wasps in the New Year, and Bates admits the LV=Cup’s complex system could play into his side’s hands.

“It’s an extremely difficult formula in this competition, where you don’t actually play the teams in your own pool,”

said the Newcastle boss.

“In that sense, the fact that Worcester won with a bonus point might not be as important as if they had been in our group.”

Nevertheless, Newcastle will have to improve markedly if they are to record their first LV=Cup victory against Harlequins this weekend.

Bates opted to make 12 changes at Worcester on Saturday, and after restricting their hosts to just a two-point advantage at half-time, Falcons conceded three unanswered tries after the interval.

The LV=Cup is clearly not a priority as Newcastle look to secure a Heineken Cup spot via the Guinness Premiership, but while a number of senior players are likely to be rested again at the weekend, Bates insists he will field a side capable of beating Harlequins.

And while Saturday’s fulltime score might have been somewhat unpalatable, the Falcons chief claims there were elements of his side’s display that pleased him.

“We were very competitive, and at half-time we were reasonably pleased to be in contention at just 8-6 down,” he said. “Our scrum looked very destructive throughout and the line-out was solid, but if there was one criticism it was that we didn’t generate enough quick ball.

“On the plus side there were a number of good performances though. Mark Wilson put in an outstanding debut on the open-side flank, and I felt he was very unlucky to find himself sin-binned in the first half. We then had Rob Vickers binned, and he’s adamant he didn’t do anything either.”