Lam happy, but not satisfied ahead of London Scottish clash

Pat Lam says Bristol Rugby must continue to raise their standards, despite currently occupying top spot in the Greene King IPA Championship.

A last-gasp Rhodri Williams try helped his side to a 32-23 victory over Ealing Trailfinders at Ashton Gate on Sunday, but the head coach admits there is still plenty of room for improvement for his squad.

“We’re happy to be top of the table, but we’re not satisfied with where we are at,” he said.

“We know where we want to get to and although a lot of people expected us to be here at this stage, we’re under no illusions. It hasn’t been easy and it won’t be easy all the way through, because we’ve got committed teams coming at us.

“Fair play to the boys, they’ve done the job and got the points to get us there and we’re seeing good improvement every week. We’ll get stronger as we spend more time together.”

Lam hailed his side’s victory over Ealing as an important one in the context of the season, but says attentions have now turned to the challenge posed by London Scottish on Saturday. 

“It was always going to be a pivotal game, every game is. But certainly, the Ealing game was important because they were top of the table and with no play-offs this season, every game is big.

“There’s no doubt Ealing will be successful this season and it was important to take five points off of them and ensure they didn’t get any points from the game. That will certainly help us going forwards, but now it’s our responsibility to go into the next game and target the five points on offer again.

“I think the main thing for us is improving on our performance and if we do that, it’ll give us the best chance of getting the five points. 

“I think if you have a look at the season: Hartpury, Cornish Pirates, Richmond, everyone has given us a tough run at stages. But we bring it back to what we can control - we want to be able to control the tempo of the game, we want to be disciplined and we want to ensure our number of errors is lower and that we make better decisions.

“We keep giving teams chances against us and that is something that we’re working on.”

Looking forward to Saturday’s game against London Scottish at Ashton Gate, Lam says there are no long-term injury concerns in the squad, but admits the six-day turnaround between games could impact his final selection.

“It’s a six-day turnaround, so we’ve got to monitor the players and trust the squad. There’s nothing serious in the squad at the moment – and by that I mean no one out long-term – but there’s a few niggles and we’ll factor in all of that when it comes to selection.”

Supporters can enjoy two games of rugby for just £10 at Ashton Gate on Saturday (October 7th), as first up, Pat Lam's unbeaten side take on London Scottish, while at 4.15pm, Bristol Ladies face Gloucester-Hartpury Ladies in a derby clash in the Tyrell's Premier 15s competition.

Take advantage of the fantastic ticket offer and bring your friends and family to BS3. The fans' village will be open, as usual, as well as live music and a community fanzone.

The Bristol Rugby shuttle bus service, in conjunction with First Bus, is running two routes from Horfield Common and the Portway.

Tickets are available online by clicking here, or via Supporter Services on 0117 963 0600.