Head Coach Alex Grove admitted his side were “awful” as they fell at the final hurdle in attempting to preserve their unbeaten record at Avery Fields this season.
Having secured the Regional One Midlands title last week, Bourns set themselves the target of making it 11 home wins from 11 against second-placed Newport but they went down 29-14, failing to collect a point for the first time this season.
Although the much-anticipated contest was no longer a title decider, Newport played as though it was while Bourns appeared to be suffering a hangover from the promotion celebrations.
“We were quite clear about our goals four weeks ago which was to go and win the league. We did that and re-visited our goals and said we wanted to remain unbeaten at home. So to fall at the final hurdle is disappointing,” said Grove.
“We were awful today. I think a 29-14 loss probably flatters us. Everything we said we were going to do before the game we didn’t do in the first half and the things we said we were going to do or not going to do at half-time, within 30 seconds of the second half we weren’t delivering.
“We had the celebration last week on promotion which came a week earlier than we expected. It’s just as well it did on today’s evidence.
“Today was also about having half an eye on next season as well. Newport are second in the league and a very good side. If we play half as bad as that next season then it’s going to be a very long season.
“It’s about rugby IQ, simple as that. We had people who weren’t thinking quickly enough. Against better teams you have to think quicker. Whether it’s forgetting the key points that we say we are going to deliver on before the game or at half-time or whether it’s thinking enough in the game between phases in the dead time.
“Possibly there are things a referee will miss from both sides. That’s where players have to make smart decisions and where there was a decision to make today we made the wrong one.
“It was really untidy in attack. If we are clutching at straw and looking at positives our scrum was dominant which was pleasing because we didn’t have a recognised prop on the bench. But we were miles off it today.”
“We have had a week to come to terms with winning the league. We don’t just celebrate for the next four weeks, the game moves on and our goals change. We didn’t deliver on what we set out to do which was to remain unbeaten at home which is disappointing.”
