Johann van Graan labels Bristol 'negative', lauds England ace

Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan was delighted with the form of centre Ollie Lawrence in his side’s 40-15 Gallagher Prem victory over Bristol.

The centre scored one try from a delicate chip by Finn Russell and had another ruled out after the TMO spotted a team-mate’s knock-on moments earlier.

Now restored to the England squad after recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon while playing for his country in March, his performance prompted Van Graan to say: “His effort and commitment to get back is great to see.

“He had some big moments today and it’s the small detail in helping the forwards in close-quarter combat that was good. He’ll certainly keep building into the season as he progresses.

“We made a decision that he would play three games in this block.”

Van Graan acknowledged that losing players to England training camp early in the week did have an impact:

“We trained together for 25 minutes on Thursday. That’s not ideal but it’s the same for all sides and I want as many of our guys as possible to play international rugby.

“We stuck to the way we wanted to play. It’s never going to be perfect but, look, we scored 40 points.”

After leading 15-5, Bristol conceded 10 second-half penalties leading Van Graan to question why they had not conceded more yellow cards than the two handed out.

“They were so negative on their own try-line but our six forwards coming on gave us a lot of energy. So, two good sides. I’d say that was a fiery game but I’m very satisfied.”

To Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam the contest did not feel like a 40-15 defeat.

He said: “I loved the fight. This four weeks has been hugely challenging. But one thing that has been really revealing has been the character of the group. They could only train once together.”

He added: “We said: ‘Nothing for free. Let’s fight for every moment’. And the boys just put their bodies on the line. The tackle count was something like 230 to 100. You do really see, during these last three or four weeks with the injuries we have, real character.

“George Kloska went in to jackal today and he picked up a hamstring injury, which is another one added to the list. But we just get a chance to regroup now.

“Well done to Bath. In my time here I’m always generally confident because we have our strongest team but we are very understrength today.

“When I saw their team, they had 14 internationals out of 15 in their starting line-up. They’ve got a phenomenal squad, and reigning champs. I love that challenge because you have to rely on the team – on attitude and heart – and defend. Unfortunately, we defended a lot because the penalty count was huge.

“We could feel sorry for ourselves but the boys are just scrapping for everything.”