Bates was forced to press Jimmy Gopperth into action against Petrarca

Newcastle director of rugby Steve Bates admitted his side struggled in their narrow Challenge Cup Pool Five victory away to Italian side Petrarca Padova.

The Falcons trailed 17-0 at one stage before battling back to a 29-27 victory and Bates believes the wet conditions played their part in the struggle.

"It's been a torrid afternoon," he told BBC Newcastle.

"We'd prepared well for the game, then the heavens opened and in those conditions it's a real leveller."

"We looked a little bit stressed by them and things weren't going to plan, and with the wind in that first half they pinned us back," he added.

"We rallied pretty well. It's a difficult situation to get into when you're expected to come and win by a reasonable number of points and you find yourself down at half-time."

The second-half saw the introduction of Junior All Black fly-half Jimmy Gopperth in place of Rob Miller, and Bates said the former Blues half-back offered much needed stability and quality to the Falcons midfield.

"We hoped we could give him a rest this week but we needed a bit more experience there and his first touch of the ball opened up their defence," he said.

"What we needed was more composure on the field and he gave us that."

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