Newcastle Red Bulls director of rugby Dan McFarland told BBC Radio Newcastle:
“I’m really disappointed, to be honest. It was a game we could have won. Really pleased with the way we approached the game. I thought we were full of effort, full of energy.
“Most importantly, we were full of the endeavour that we wanted to put in, in terms of the way we wanted to play the game.
“Unfortunately, we were not accurate enough in key areas – but that will grow.
“We are trying not to play in a boring way. Today, we weren’t where we wanted to be. In the first half, we gave away penalties at set-piece and let them into our 22. I thought we improved in that area as the game went on.”
Leicester Tigers head coach Geoff Parling told BBC Radio Leicester:
“Gritty and dogged. Defensively, some good resolve and they’re [Newcastle] going to break some teams this year with their quality attack and good speed.
“You go all pre-season and you try to build some real cohesion and you lose a lot of guys in the same position, but no excuses, we’ve just got to be better. I’ve got to help those guys to be able to execute in those moments.
“There’s loads to improve on. The general feeling in the changing room is disappointment, which is great for me.
“Accuracy in the second half, especially at set-piece, we didn’t allow ourselves to build up some pressure.”
Newcastle Red Bulls: Obatoyinbo; Wade, Hearle, Harris, Ene; Connon, Elliott; Rakete-Stones, McGuigan, Millar Mills; Usher, Jordan, Hicks, Christie (capt), Sotutu.
Replacements: Fletcher, Brocklebank, Harper, Molina, Leatherbarrow, Graham, Benitez Cruz, Henry.
Leicester Tigers: Steward; Radwan, Kata, Bailey, Hamer-Webb; Searle, Van Poortvliet (capt); Vunipola, Moli, Heyes; Thompson, Henderson, Wainwright, Reffell, Cracknell.
Replacements: Thunder, Haffar, Hurd, Manz, Moro, Whiteley, Wand, Hassell-Collins.
Referee: Christophe Ridley.
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