‘Focused on big performance’ - Afoa

Pat Lam’s side head to the East Midlands looking for a first win at the home of the Tigers for more than 17 years – and Afoa says decision-making under pressure will be a key factor in the result.

“It’s a tough place to go (Welford Road). They’re a traditional club with a rich history – but for us, with a seven-day build-up, we’ll go up there Friday afternoon, get settled in and then look for a big performance on Saturday.

“They’ve got plenty to play for too. They’re at home, but it will be all about who makes the better decisions when the pressure comes on.

“We need the points if we’re going to finish where we want to finish, which is the top six bracket and we’ll be trying to get as many points as we can from these final three games.”

The All Black prop, who has appeared in 19 out of 20 Gallagher Premiership games this season, insists the victory over reigning champions Saracens last time out has given Bristol fresh confidence as they target a strong finish to the campaign.

“It showed that, when you put it all together, we can really compete against top sides.

“At other times this season we’ve been patchy and done things that aren’t in our system but results like beating Saracens is just confirmation that when we get our stuff right and everyone is in the right mindset, we can beat any team in the competition.

“But we need to bring another big performance on Saturday. We’ll just be doing what we’ve done all year – going for the five points and challenging hard to reach our goals.”