Bristol: Lam seeking home form to match away joy

Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam is challenging his players to bring that stellar away form back with them to Ashton Gate.

The Bears started the new season with a convincing bonus point victory away to Newcastle Falcons.

It was a sixth consecutive win on the road in the Premiership, a run that stretches back to last December.

"We had the best away record last year, but we're not proud of our home form," Lam told BBC Sport.

No team could match Bristol's record of six away wins out of nine games last season, but ultimately they fell two points shy of the top four.

Of the sides who finished above them, none suffered as many as the Bears' four home defeats.

They recorded more than 50 points in beating both the top two, Northampton Saints and Bath at Ashton Gate, but Lam is aiming for fewer highs and lows in their home results.

That begins with the visit of Gloucester on Friday night.

"We want to be consistent at home; we have talked about that through pre-season," he said.

"We love playing at Ashton Gate, but I think other teams come there and enjoy the place as well.

"For us, it's about doing a few things differently, as we're not expecting to just rock up and think it's going to happen. It's something collectively we all want to improve."