Pat Lam believes Bristol are “sitting nice” after they finished second in the Gallagher Premiership with a 55-35 win over Newcastle at Ashton Gate.
But the Bristol rugby boss also insisted there will be plenty of work to do before the Premiership restarts in June on March 6.
Bristol were six points behind leaders Bath when they played from eight attempts, but bottom club Newcastle fought hard and the Falcons were only three points clear after 72 minutes before a late scorer.
URC Stadium Tappe Henning explains how match officials are held to account.
URC Stadium Tappe Henning explains how match officials are held to account.
“The target was 5 today but when I saw the conditions (wet and windy) I thought it would be difficult to get 5, so eight attempts is a real plus. That’s the good side,” Lam said.
“We were down 21-0 and we were down to a real flyer and then they gave us a stupid penalty that slowed down the tempo overall and fair play.
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Gallagher Premiership
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Newcastle
“We balanced our kicking game initially because of the conditions, but once we were up 21-0, why were we still kicking the ball? When we kicked the ball, they came to us and gave us a punishment.
“It was neck and neck and we showed how lethal it can be when we focus and get the little bits and pieces right and we got away with it.
“Hopefully we can sit nicely in second and get a good run. We lost the game at the last minute and it allowed us to let the game slip. So considering this time last year, when we were in 8th place with a break, we’re happy.
“We have to get the job done and nail down the key moments of the game. We just had this slip, and when we’re not in it, we slip up the whole team. “Some of it was self-inflicted, so we had to clean up a lot of it.”
Wings Kalaveti Ravouvou and Noah Heward each scored two tries in a spectacular 90-point performance.
Fiji international wings Labow and Howard struck hard in each half, but Newcastle lost 85-14 and stayed in the contest for a long time, nine months after scoring 13 tries on the same ground.
Bristol looked as if they were on the run after 18 minutes of touches from Ravouvou, hooker Gabriel Oghre and Heward.
Ravouvou and Heward added their second touchdowns after the break, while there were also scores to scrum-half Kieran Marmion, number eight Viliame Mata and substitute Deago Bailey. Harry Byrne booted four conversions and a penalty, while Benhard Janse van Rensburg added two conversions.
Newcastle are six points adrift of the premiership cellar but wing Ben Stevenson delivers performances from center Max Clark, hooker Jamie Blamire and Callum Chick also cross. I was able to receive a lot of encouragement from . Brett Connon started 5 conversions.
Falcons’ consultant director of rugby Steve Diamond said: “They were 21-0 up and then we were effectively kicked off the bus and it was a close game until the last 15 minutes when we got a yellow card and against a side like Bristol. It was. Proved what a lesson it is in defense.
“What I’m pleased about is that we scored five tries and we were combative and we were in the scraps for a large part of the game.
“I’m confident we’ve got a few wins under our belt and it will be a big pressure game at Exeter at the end of March.”
