Williams upbeat despite agony at Exeter

BRISTOL were “gutted” not to beat Exeter at Sandy Park last time out and scrum-half Rhodri Williams is calling for another good performance ahead of their clash against Wasps today.

Having gone into halftime leading 24-17, the Premiership’s bottom side still led 34-31 midway through the second half but a try three minutes from time from Thomas Waldrom denied them a massive victory in their quest to avoid relegation.

Instead, with three games left to play, they trail Worcester by 12 points and look set to return to the Championship next season.

“We were gutted after the game last week,” Williams told The Rugby Paper. “We thought we should have had the five points which shows how well we’d performed on the day.

“Ill-discipline cost us in the end but it was a good confidence builder and it was still one of our best defensive performance of the season, which is good before we play Wasps.

“We know it’s going to be tough but we’re not going to give up. We’ll focus on what we can control which is our performances. That’s all we can ask from the players.”

Regardless of what happens to Bristol over the next few weeks, Williams will stay at the club after a season full of positives on a personal level.

The 23-year-old joined from Scarlets last summer and reckons his all-round game has improved after working with former Wales star Dwayne Peel in training, and playing in a league where weekly results matter.

He added: “Playing in a league with relegation adds that edge towards the bottom of the table. It’s a very competitive league because no one wants to go down. You don’t have that pressure at the bottom of the table in the PRO12.

“I have really enjoyed my first season in Bristol. I’ve been working a lot in training with Dwayne and my basics have improved a lot.

“I have another year on my contract so I’ll stay next season. The club is ambitious. We want to move forward and I’d like to be part of it.”