Opposition view: Lam says Saints defeat was 'opportunity lost' for Bristol

Pat Lam was left to reflect on what he felt was a missed opportunity for his Bristol Bears side against Saints on Saturday.
Bristol scored five tries against Saints but it wasn't enough for victory at Ashton Gate (picture: Sharon Lucey)Bristol scored five tries against Saints but it wasn't enough for victory at Ashton Gate (picture: Sharon Lucey)
Bristol scored five tries against Saints but it wasn't enough for victory at Ashton Gate (picture: Sharon Lucey)

The Bears were beaten 45-40 in a topsy-turvy game at Ashton Gate.

Saints scored six tries to Bristol's five as Chris Boyd's boys picked up their first away win of the new Gallagher Premiership season.

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But it was Bristol's first home defeat, having beaten Bath and Harlequins in previous matches, and boss Lam was not happy with his side's poor defending and lack of discipline.

“Without a doubt it was an opportunity lost out there," Lam said.

“We showed a lot of character to score at the end and grab two points, but to concede 45 points is not great.

“A lot of it was our own doing but ultimately we’re disappointed to concede so many. A lot of it came from errors and ill-discipline – it’s a frustrating game and I feel like we had a chance to get five points.

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“All the games we’ve played this year have been about taking our opportunities. All the possession was against us in the first half and fair play to Northampton, they put us under pressure.

“We’ve got to take the learnings and move on ahead of Worcester next weekend.

“It’s important that if you don’t win the game, you get as many points as you can but that doesn’t take away from the disappointment that we didn’t take our chances to win.”