Rugby Lam: We were never going to throw the towel in
It wasn’t perfect but it was a gutsy effort, particularly up front
BRISTOL Bears are looking to set up a dramatic conclusion to the 2020-21 Heineken Champions Cup pool stages fit for the “greatest club competition in the world”.
The Bears’ director of rugby Pat Lam balked at the suggestion his side would ever throw the towel in, having worked so hard to get back in the Champions Cup, Europe’s premier competition, for the first time in 12 years.
Sunday’s 27-18 bonus-point victory at his former club Connacht means if Bristol repeat the feat against the Irish province at Ashton Gate in January, qualification for a place in the quarter-finals for the first time would likely come down to the trip to Clermont Auvergne on January 23.
The task of toppling the side which left Bristol “gutted” the previous weekend after a 51-38, 12-try romp, on their own turf is certainly an almighty challenge - but Munster’s stunning comeback to win 39-31 in the Massif Central on Saturday proves that without the club’s famous frenzied walls of die-hard yellow-shirted fans they can be beaten at the Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin.
Speaking after the victory in Galway, where Lam saw his side to victory over the club he defied all odds with by leading to the 2015-16 Pro14 title, the Bears boss said: “I am really pleased, that is our first Champions Cup win in a lot of years and what an effort.
“People asked me would we throw the towel in after defeat last weekend, would we still give it our all?
“It is the best competition in the world, of course we will give it our all. We have gone strong (with the side selected against Connacht) and we have got a lot of players coming back in January, too.
“All we can control is trying to get four or five points next time out (against Connacht) and then we are still alive the week after that.”
The thought of the Bears heading to France, where they beat Brive, Stade Francais and Toulon on the way to winning the Challenge Cup last season, with the likes of Semi Radradra, Charles Piutau, Luke Morahan and Chris Vui added to their ranks, is certainly a prospect for Bristol fans to savour.
While Bristol were far from perfect on in Round Two, they are learning from their mistakes having tightened up their leaky defence from the previous weekend.
In Galway the sides went in with the Bears 5-3 up at half-time which was in contrast to the 29-14 deficit at the interval against Clermont.
Lam said: “We were gutted with our performance against Clermont, particularly defensively.
“Omar (Mouneimne - defence and collisions coach) did some good work this week with the defence, and that was superb this week. It wasn’t perfect but it was a gutsy effort, particularly up front.”