Codling praises four-try Falcons

Alex Codling praised his Newcastle Falcons battlers as they claimed a four-try bonus point in Friday’s Gallagher Premiership northern derby at Sale Sharks.

The Falcons fell 40-22 with Sale grabbing a pair of late tries, but Codling was full of positivity after a much-changed line-up asked serious questions of last season’s semi-finalists.

He said: “We had four Gallagher Premiership debutants, an 18-year-old full-back, 13 changes from last week and only one proper training day from a five-day turnaround – so considering all of those things combined I’m incredibly proud of the lads tonight.