Sharks try was offside fumes Pat Lam
BRISTOL, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 05: Bristol Bears Director of Rugb Pat Lam ahead of the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Bristol Bears and Sale Sharks at Ashton Gate on February 05, 2021 in Bristol, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
BRISTOL director of rugby Pat Lam was concerned that his side had not be able to carry out their game plan.
He said: “We either win or learn, but they did what we expected them to do as we trained against that system all week.
“We knew they would be physical and slow our ball down at every opportunity but we gave away silly penalties and I’m disappointed we couldn’t close out the game.
“But I thought we were unlucky to concede the try as earlier in the move their No.9 was in front of AJ (MacGinty) when he kicked.
“You need to stay ahead of Sale to force them to come out and play but we went from 7-0 nil up to 7-9 down.
“Losing Steven Luatua in the warm-up was a big loss as he would have given us more control.”
Sale full-back Luke James, who celebrated his 50th Premiership appearance by scoring the decisive try, said: “We’ve been trying to get some real tightness into our group and to back each others’ decisions.
“We knew they’d have a lightning bolt moment but as long as we didn’t panic we’d be okay.”
