ANDY Robinson blasted his Bristol’s team’s second-half performance in their 21-7 GKIPA Championship win at bottom-of-the-table Ealing as “unacceptable” and “a step backwards”.
Bristol led 21-7 at half-time at Ealing – who have now lost ten of their 11 games since earning promotion to English rugby’s second tier – but neither side managed a single point in a dire second half.
And, while director of rugby Robinson saw his team return to winning ways in the Championship after back-to-back defeats, he was far from happy with what he saw from his players.
“I’m very disappointed,” said Robinson. “I’ve discussed it with the players – it’s unacceptable for us to play as we did in that second half. Ealing defended well but we had enough opportunities – and we’ve got to be able to take those opportunities. It’s hugely frustrating.” Asked whether the victory was the only positive he could find from a frustrating afternoon in west London, Robinson said: “I think you’ve got to say we were expected to win. It’s the first time I’ve really looked at the side and thought ‘we’ve got to move ourselves forward’ – because that was a step backwards for me.
“We will train as we’ve planned this week – but we’ve got lift what we’re doing, because it’s not good enough.”
Bristol’s victory saw them return to the top four of the Championship – although they were helped by the fact Rotherham and Leeds had no game. And, with leaders London Welsh losing to London Scottish, they cut the gap between themselves and the table-toppers to four points.
But none of that seemed to appease Robinson, who was unwilling to blame the driving rain and occasionally heavy wind for his team’s sub-standard second-half display, in which they failed to secure a bonus point.
“I don’t think the weather affected anything – you’ve got to play tactically against it, and it’s the same for both sides,” said Robinson. “You’ve got to be able to take your opportunities. We got three tries in the first half, which was pleasing, but we had other opportunities close to the line and we’ve got to be able to take those chances.
“Ealing got round the corner well, we carried very highly, and we tried to bash over but we weren’t good enough.
“I’m very, very disappointed – and it’s a shame, because we’ve actually had a good week of training. It’s a shame that it ended with a performance like we did in the second half.”
Bristol return to the Memorial Stadium on Saturday for a game against a Moseley side that includes Robinson’s son, Olly, and who the director of rugby knows will give his team a stern examination.
“That’s going to be a really tough game for us,” he said. “We lost to Moseley twice last season, so we’ll need all the support, and we’ve got to thank all the supporters who came up to Ealing. The Bristol travelling support is tremendous – and they didn’t deserve a second-half performance like that.”
Bristol lock Glen Townson echoed his director of rugby’s frustration at his side’s inability to seal a bonus point after scoring three tries inside the opening half an hour.
“We’re pretty down in the changing room and very disappointed – and frustrated with ourselves as well,” said Townson.
“I think our accuracy in that second half was just not acceptable – and we won’t be blaming the conditions for that: we’ve got to be better than that. We’ve come away with a win, but we’ve let a point get away from us there and it’s very disappointing.”
Article source: http://www.express.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/440054/England-hit-by-Geoff-Parling-injury-ahead-of-Australia-clash
Second-half performance unacceptable, says Bristol Rugby"s Andy Robinson
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