England rugby head coach Eddie Jones looks on during a training session at Bristol’s Clifton College yesterday. The England squad are in the West Country for a three-day training camp ahead of the autumn internationals against the likes of New Zealand and
HEAD coach Pat Lam praised his side’s character after Sunday’s impressive 20-13 victory over Harlequins at Ashton Gate, writes Marcello Cossali-Francis.
Lam’s side, inspired by fly-half Ian Madigan, came from behind to win.
Bears had lost their previous two matches, both away from home, but Lam, pictured below, insisted the players have never let him down when it comes to work rate and determination.
“Character is a great word to use,” he said. “I think after four rounds the character and the commitment is tremendous. We were disappointed to get nothing in the last two away games so today was a huge four points.
“Every Monday we talk about executing our game plan as well as we can but the toughest thing to coach is character, so I’m just pleased and proud that these boys do that,” he explained.
The Bears went behind early on in the game but out-scored Harlequins 20-3 for the final 60 minutes but even after dominating the game, still could have dropped points.
“We probably didn’t manage that game very well at the end, we were still trying to play with the ball when we perhaps didn’t need to.
“We found ourselves down 10 points through playing in our own half but we managed to get ourselves back into it and in the second-half we did much better.”
The Bears also displayed improved discipline and they massively reduced the penalty count against them. Lam’s side had been the most penalised team in the opening three rounds.
While Lam was pleased with the discipline and general performance, he admitted that his side can still improve.
“When we get things right we look great and today we should have been further ahead but that’s all part of the game and we will review those last 10 minutes on Monday.
“My heart can do without these kind of tense moments. We made key errors at crucial times today, you have to read the defence and adapt and I think a few times today we didn’t do that.”
Bristol Bears now move on to another home game next weekend, when they face Northampton Saints, looking to make it three wins from three at Ashton Gate.