Pat Lam: Bristol Bears boss 'proud' after South Africa win in front of record crowd
- Published
The last time Bristol faced an international side was in 2003 when they played the USA at the Memorial Ground
Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam said the stadium record crowd at Ashton Gate "deserved a performance" as his side beat a South Africa 'A' team.
They won the friendly 26-18 against a side representing the reigning world champions, in front of 26,387 fans.
It was the first time Bristol have faced an international side since 2003.
"What I'm most proud about - when you have a crowd that come like this they deserve a performance," Lam told ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Bristol.
"It was deafening down here at times, it's a real privilege to be part of. To have 19 years of no international team [in Bristol], I'd love to have the All Blacks here, Australia here."
South Africa travelled to Bristol as part of their Autumn Nations Series. They have already been beaten by Ireland and France and next face Italy, before culminating the tour against England at Twickenham on 26 November.
Their starting XV featured nine players capped by the Springboks.
Bristol have not won their past five league matches and Lam said the performance - which saw Gabriel Ibitoye and Yann Thomas score tries and fly-half Callum Sheedy kick 16 points - forced his team to improve their game.
"It's another level, but it forced us to be real focussed on getting the little things done well," Lam said.
"Whether you're in the scrum, whether you're in the maul [defence], whether you're chasing kicks - all those little bits and working as a team - it was a great experience for the guys.
"There's a lot of things we can take forward. I'm sure the crowd can see slight subtleties and changes that we've been working on."
'It was a Test match'
Sheedy, who has 15 international caps for Wales, said the occasion felt like "a Test match".
"The fans were incredible. The occasion as a whole was just really special," he said.
"I've been here eight years and we were struggling to get out of the Championship when we first came and the journey we've been on for nights like this is unbelievable."