An unhappy Pat Lam was left feeling hard done by following Bristol Bears 14-50 defeat to Exeter Chiefs on Friday night as key refereeing decisions went against his side, and once again he is sweating on injuries in an already depleted key area.
Perhaps the pivotal moment in the match came when talisman Ellis Genge was sent to the sin-bin in the 17th minute for a high clear out at a ruck which saw his shoulder make contact with the head of Exeter lock Jonny Gray. While the Bristol director of rugby was not raging about the decision, he certainly felt it was harsh on the England prop.
During his 10 minutes off the pitch, Bristol conceded two tries to see the fixture turn on its head having started positively with a try from Toby Fricker.
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Speaking pitchside at Ashton Gate after the final whistle, Lam said: “For me, I thought it was unlucky.
"They said it was his bicep that hit is head and so, if they’re saying it’s the bicep, it wasn’t his shoulder, it was his bicep. So, as he’s going to clean him out, you can see the technique he used. Again, they make the call, we go with it and then we obviously got another one in the air [against Piers O'Conor]. So, it’s how we deal with it and unfortunately, we didn’t deal with it well. “
Genge was also marched back ten metres on two occasions but Lam felt the second time was referee, Christophe Ridley, reading the situation wrong.
He said: “I think Ellis was trying to say it was my bad boys and unfortunately the ref marched him ten but that’s the feedback I was getting back from the guys on the radio but I’ll have a look at it later.”
The result, as damming as it was is now gone, but a further legacy from the game is further injuries concerns for Bristol with injuries mounting up in the backrow after just five games with captain and back rower Jake Heenan being forced to leave the field at half-time having played through the pain initially.
Heenan was seen on crutches a the end of the game with his right ankle in a protective space boot. Lam said: “I’ll find out after today. He (Heenan) got caught with his ankle so we’ll double-check when we get back in."
While Dan Thomas has returned from a rolled ankle to offer some relief in the backrow, and Lam has signed Joe Batley following Worcester Warriors' collapse, the Bears are still without Steven Luatau, Fitz Harding and Sam Lewis.
Bristol’s next fixture sees them travel to Kingsholm next Saturday to face Gloucester and Lam admitted that it doesn’t get any easier for his side.
“They’re all tough, that’s what the Premiership is, it’s all tough. All we can focus on is ourselves and get ourselves right. “
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