Arrogance nearly cost us, says Goode

In fact, Goode accused his players of being arrogant after they nearly threw it away at Chippenham in Saturday’s 42-41 Wadworth 6X South West One victory. It was the third time Bulls had won by a single point against the Wiltshire club in three years as they made it eight wins in a row to consolidate third place.

It was a thrilling encounter with an incredible finale but Bulls were sluggish for long periods and there was certainly a hangover. However, five points may be crucial at the end of the season and Bulls showed resolve to finish in the way they did.

Sam Stoop scored two great tries at crucial times while Ed Phillips had a perfect day with the boot and a try of his own but what really stood out was the motivating of his team mates. He refused at any point to think Bulls were going to lose and his penultimate conversion came under incredible pressure and made the comeback possible.

Goode said: “That was a really poor performance, we weren’t good at all. We went up early on by 14 points and then we were arrogant, that arrogance cost us a lot.

“Defensively we were poor, after a festive period it’s slightly understandable. I think we were thinking about some of the games coming up against some of the teams near the top of the league and not fully focused on Saturday. They played some good rugby but we didn’t have that want or desire in defence today.

“I just think it was an off game for us. We were lucky to come away with five points but we’ll definitely be better next week.

“There were some good performances. I thought Ed Phillips played well. Sam Stoop played well and Nick Pratt had a big impact off the bench. It’s good to get the win but we’ll draw a line under the performance.”