Falcons' John Rudd was part of the side that beat Northampton

Newcastle coach Steve Bates is refusing to get carried away by his side's 19-13 win against Northampton and believes there is still much to improve on.

The Falcons scored all their points within the opening 11 minutes, and the former Borders coach admitted his side needed to cut out the sloppy errors.

"There were bits of our play in the second half where we were nervous," he told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"At times we didn't look like we knew what we were doing."

Both sides were involved in scuffles during a tense second half, as Northampton sought to preserve their astonishing 29-game unbeaten run.

But Bates defended both parties, particularly in a game where each side needed the points for different reasons.

"These boys are tough," he said. "They train hard, it's a very physical game and there's a lot at stake."

"This is a proud record for Northampton and they wanted to maintain that.

"We were in front and had a great opportunity to make a bit of history for ourselves and that's bound to be tense and physical."

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