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Dan McFarland, the Newcastle Red Bulls head coach, wants his new-look side to “do more physical damage” as they chase a first Gallagher PREM win of the season at Exeter Chiefs, who are also winless after two rounds.
The Red Bulls were close to knocking it off Leicester Tigers but defensive frailties saw them go down 24-19 at home as the rebranded club tries to integrate the 25 new players who have arrived at Kingston Park.
McFarland said, “We’ve got to get off the defensive line and smoke guys and we’re seeing bits of that, but on both sides of the ball, we’ve got to do more physical damage. It’s not close to where we want to be.”
“We’ve got to get our shoulders in the ribs and move our bodies in the breakdown. Judging where we are on this journey is difficult and I don’t want to put any limits on what we’re capable of. We’re setting benchmarks to find out where we are and it’s a week-to-week thing.”
Flanker Max Hicks has been one of the Red Bulls’ leading ball carriers and is showing why he will become a key asset for the team after joining from Perpignan.
McFarland added: “He’s got good speed and he’s a good ball carrier and we haven’t seen the best of him by any stretch of the imagination.
“I see a lot of growth in him as a player and with his long levers he’s a threat to kick out and it’s important to be able to break the line by releasing the ball. Tall guys are especially important. He’s quick and explosive and that’s where his power comes from.”
“They kept us over the line against Leicester and we were finding holes in the middle and not getting the ball into spaces and a lot of that is getting used to each other. We want to score goals but we also want to be competitive and we should have won that game against a powerful Tigers team.”
“Exeter are more structured than us, there is less risk, and they had the best defense in the league last season. I watched their defeat against Gloucester and they were out of the game, and they had a bite between their teeth Bath and I could have easily won that match.”