Bristol Rugby’s players have been urged by coach Andy Robinson to thrive on the pressure, take their chances and avoid the temptation of trying to chase the game too early when they take on London Welsh to win promotion to the Aviva Premiership this evening.
Bristol have left themselves an extraordinary amount to do in the second leg of the GKIPA Championship final at the Memorial Stadium, having lost the first leg in Oxford, 27-8, a week ago.
In the final rugby game at the Memorial Stadium, 93 years after the club played their first match there, Bristol must overturn that 19-point deficit if they are to end their five-year exile from the Aviva Premiership.
And director of rugby Robinson said he would like to see his team claw back the aggregate deficit to “within one or two scores” by half-time, before finishing the fightback in the second half.
“There was obviously big disappointment after the loss last week – but the players have responded well,” said Robinson.
“While we’re disappointed with the loss, it’s gone now – and it’s about focusing on this next performance. With a sell-out crowd, everyone is excited about what we can achieve.
“We feel the crowd gives us a 10-point advantage – we really feel they can give the side a lift. It’s about being able to thrive on the atmosphere that’s created. We’re looking for every Bristol player to stand up and enjoy the atmosphere.
“We want to get in at half-time within one or two scores – but we mustn’t chase the game too early. We’ve got to play what’s in front of us and get the crowd behind us – part of that is getting the momentum and putting London Welsh under pressure.”
Bristol scored 116 tries during the regular Championship season, racking up an average of more than five per game.
But in their three play-off games so far, they have managed only five in total – scoring once in each of their last two games – and Robinson feels that is an area in which they must improve this evening.
“You’ve got to thrive on this pressure,” he said. “We knew at the beginning of the season that we wanted to get into this position – to be in a play-off final.
“What we want to be now is enthusiastic in the way we play, but also accurate. The 27 points London Welsh scored against us came from our errors, so we’ve got to limit our errors and play with real accuracy in this game.
“We’re going to get maybe five or six chances – and we need to make sure we’re taking those five or six chances.
“We’ve got to think about winning the game, and our performance, but it’s about how we start the game. If we can start the game well, I think we can put them under real pressure.”
Robinson has made a big decision in selection, dropping wing George Watkins – the club’s leading try-scorer – from the match-day 22, and replacing him in the starting line-up with Charlie Amesbury, who has not featured in a Championship game since March.
With Ryan Jones and Luke Baldwin both ruled out with ankle injuries, Mitch Eadie and Ruki Tipuna start, while Gaston Cortes comes back in for Jason Hobson at tighthead prop.
“I felt we needed to make a change,” Robinson said, when asked why he had omitted 19-try, Cardiff-bound wing Watkins.
“Charlie Amesbury has been training really well – he’s been in and out of the side all year, and I felt it was right to bring him in for this game. Effectively, it’s down to how he’s been training, and I felt we needed to have a change.
“We have to look at what we’ve been doing – and we haven’t played well enough in the play-offs. It was difficult (to leave Watkins out) – but Adam Hughes has done well off the bench.”
Robinson also expressed his satisfaction with the appointment of Luke Pearce as referee. A number of Wayne Barnes’ calls in the first leg frustrated Robinson – and Pearce, who officiated Bristol’s 25-21 home win against Welsh in April, takes charge this evening. “Luke Pearce is a good referee – he refereed the last time we played Welsh here, so he has a picture of how the sides play,” he said.
Bristol: J Wallace; C Amesbury, J Tovey, B Mosses, A Short; N Robinson, R Tipuna (capt); K Traynor, R Johnston, G Cortes, B Glynn, G Townson, N Koster, M Mama, M Eadie. Reps: R Lawrence, J Hall, J Hobson, B Skirving, J Grindal, A Jarvis, A Hughes.
London Welsh: A Awcock; S Stegmann, T May (capt), S Jewell, N Scott; G Ross, C Cook; N Trevett, N Morris, P Edwards, W Spencer, M Corker, M Lees, C Kirwan, R Thorpe. Reps: N Vella, T Bristow, J Tideswell, B West, O Stedman, R Lewis, R Crane.
Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23278085
Bristol Rugby v London Welsh: Promotion demands we take all chances, says ...
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