Leinster coach Matt Williams was very pleased with his side’s 29-23 defeat over Bristol in the opening game of the Heineken Cup last night. Brian O'Meara set the tone for the Irish by floating over six kicks but tries from Denis Hickie and Victor Costello - coupled with a Gordon Darcy penalty - sealed the win.
"I thought Victor Costello had a great game for us. His defence was first class. He's playing the best rugby of his career," Williams said. "I thought we put them under a lot of pressure in the scrum. But they played very well. Its very hard to win away from home. Our kicking rate needs to be improved on. Brian O'Meara was a bit upset about some of his misses."
"I think the sheer weight of errors we committed after we had put up a good lead let them back in when we really should have killed the game off," Williams continued.
Meanwhile Bristol coach Peter Thorburn pointed the finger at referee Andy Ireland after seeing his side fall. Thorburn's men also crossed twice - through Daryl Gibson and Felipe Contepomi - but he was upset by the standard of refereeing.
"They dictated the play because of the pressure we were put under, unfairly I thought in the scrum," Thorburn said. "And that's the officials responsibility, to make sure that doesn't happen. It's the easiest thing in the world to wheel a scrum and they wheeled the scrum and we just couldn't get a platform to work off."
"And I think it was the reason we were behind in the first half. You can't counter a wheel. I think it was a good experience for us, we were staring a bit of hiding in the face when it got to 26-9 so I was very proud of the way they fought back and defended," Thorburn continued. "But Leinster are a good side, basically all internationals. They've a big back line, well grilled forward pack. I'll think they'll do well. They'll be very hard to beat."
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
