Pat Lam hails Bristol’s character

Bristol head coach Pat Lam hailed his side’s character after they overturned a 10-point half-time deficit to beat Newcastle Falcons at Ashton Gate on Sunday.

Tom Pincus’ 76th-minute try sealed a crucial 35-28 bonus-point win for Bristol in front of more than 18,000 supporters, and Lam praised his players’ response after a below-par first half.

“Obviously, I’m happy, the start and second half were very good,” said Lam

“But, we said very clearly when looking at Newcastle and the sort of team they are, they’re just like their Falcons nickname – if you leave scraps, they’ll swoop in and punish you.

“That’s exactly what we did in the first half. Half-time was a simple message to individuals to look after the ball, stop making stupid passes and take pride in your position.

“There was a lot of character there from the boys to turn it around and come back again to score a try at the end.

“We’re growing and learning as a team, so this win will go into the learning bank and we’ll try and see how we can build on it.”

Winger Tom Pincus added: “It was an amazing match. We really wanted to win this game. To make my debut and help get the win, I’m just really happy for the boys.

“I made a decision two years ago to quit working in Australia and come over to England to play rugby and that’s never looked so good as right now.

“The boys have been working so hard in training. To come out in the second half and turn things around how we did was an amazing effort.

“We didn’t really feel we played to the game plan in the first half, but we galvanised and came out with the right attitude after the break.”