NEWCASTLE FALCONS director of rugby Dean Richards hopes to claim a first away win since February 2015 as his side look to build on their good start to the season against Bath.

Falcons got off to the perfect start last week with a 19-17 victory over Sale Sharks, the first time they have won on the opening day for nine years.

Richards now believes his side are close to a first success away from Kingston Park since beating London Irish 19 months ago.

He said: "Our away form is one of the things we have talked about. We didn’t win one away in the league last season and we know we need to alleviate that.

"We feel we are much better equipped this year, especially when you consider we had 19 or 20 injuries last summer plus a load of guys away at the World Cup.

"This time we are in a far better position with a much stronger squad and far fewer injuries."

Falcons have made one change from the side that beat Sale last week, with Alex Rogers coming in for prop Taione Vae who was injured during last week's game. Rogers slots in on the loose-head side as Scottish international Jon Welsh slides across to tight-head.

Tomorrow's opponents, Bath, were also winners on the opening day of the season, getting past Northampton 18-14.

Richards, who has been in charge of the Falcons since 2012, admitted he is expecting a difficult match, but feels his side are capable of victory.

He said: "They have a new coaching team led by Todd Blackadder and a side full of stardust.

"They have spent a lot of money and are looking pretty strong, it will be a tough game for us but we should have won down there towards the end of last season.

"We were a drop-goal away that night and we beat them up at our place, so they don’t hold any fear for us.

"It’s just a case of turning it on, understanding what we need to do and making it happen on the field."

The 53-year-old expressed the importance of fine margins as Newcastle look to improve on last season's 11th-placed finish.

Falcons finished just seven points above relegated London Irish in 2015-2016 and Richards said: "You only have to look at our results last year in terms of how many games we lost in the last few minutes, or in which we were only a couple of points adrift.

"Winning those games is the most important thing, and if we do then we will climb the ladder pretty quickly.

"The players all understand that, they are switched on to what is needed and are putting in the work."