NOW is not the time for Newcastle Falcons to cry over spilt milk, insists lock-forward Andrew van der Heijden.

The Kiwi was among those licking their wounds straight after Sunday’s 34-7 LV= Cup final drubbing by Gloucester but, with Aviva Premiership safety still to be secured, a relentless barrage of games continues unabated.

High-flying Saracens lie in wait at Watford on Sunday, with the second-placed side in a rich vein of form after six wins on the spin.

South African No 8 Ernst Joubert backed up their status as the league’s form horse by scooping February’s Player of the Month award, with Sarries’ only home defeat of the entire league campaign having come all the way back in October against Exeter.

“We’ll review the cup final and take on board the lessons, but we have to do it quickly,” said van der Heijden, the 6ft 7in lock-forward who has shone since arriving from Auckland in December.

“It’s just a case of flushing it out of our systems, and there is definitely no time to dwell on it because there is still such a huge amount to play for in the league.” Despite back-to-back Premiership victories over Leeds and Harlequins, the Falcons only have a seven-point buffer between themselves and the drop-spot – albeit it with a game in hand.

But with trips to Saracens and cup kings Gloucester to come in successive weeks, they know that every single point will have to be earned the hard way.

Nowhere was that demonstrated more plainly than at Northampton’s Franklin’s Gardens on Sunday, as an on-song Gloucester ran Newcastle ragged to claim the Anglo-Welsh crown.

“It was pretty disappointing, and I guess we played at the wrong end of the park in both halves,” said van der Heijden, having seen his side manage just a single try against Gloucester’s four.

“It’s always going to be tough trying to score from 80 metres out, and tactically we just needed to get ourselves down into their half a lot more than we did.”

The former Blues and Counties-Manukau man formed part of a solid scrummaging and line-out unit on the day, but saw his team-mates unable to capitalise on their steady supply of first-phase ball.

“The set-piece was reasonable, but it wasn’t good enough from my point of view,” he said, playing down his own role despite another impressive showing in the tight-five engine room.

“We needed a bit more in the scrums. The line-outs were pretty well-contested, but we should have made that platform stronger.”

Less than six months into his one-and-a-half year deal, murmurs have already started to surface at Kingston Park that the towering lock could be offered a longer-term contract sooner rather than later, such has been his impact. Rising England Under-18s star Joe Robinson could be among those benefiting from the experience of working under van der Heijden and skipper James Hudson.

The Sedbergh schoolboy is set to agree terms shortly, while new deals for Glen Townson and Tim Swinson have ensured there will be no shortage of numbers in such a key position.

But with Sunday’s LV= Cup final defeat still yet to be fully overcome, van der Heijden reflected: “It’s not fun to lose a final, and by that much as well, so the mood was pretty down after the game for the boys.

“It’s a good lesson, because we’ve got a lot of young guys who will learn from the experience. Getting this far has been good for them, I’m sure, and when Gloucester are winning 10 matches in a row you’ve really got to bring you’re A-game to the table.

“We have learned what it’s like to get to a final and lose, but we will bounce back from this.”