Glenn Delaney laments poor Nottingham performance

Delaney says Nottingham will be tough to contain in the play-offs

Nottingham director of rugby Glenn Delaney was furious with his side's sloppy display in the 22-16 home defeat against leaders Bristol on Sunday.

Delaney told BBC Radio Nottingham: "We were poor today; we made too many concentration errors and our errors resulted in their points.

"We've played a team who haven't really created anything against us.

"But we've gifted them lots of possession and territory and it's just not good enough."

It did not take long for Bristol to get their noses in front, centre Ben Giddens taking advantage of a defensive lapse to go over.

And the away side were soon on top, with only fine last-ditch tackles by Andy Savage, David Jackson and Jack Cobden keeping them at bay.

But Delaney, although irritated by his side's poor concentration, was pleased with some gritty defending which meant the Championship leaders were not able to turn their dominance into points.

"There was a lot of heart out there. I'm really happy with the way the defence is going to be honest," Delaney added.

"But we shouldn't be having to defend that much and the reason we are is because we're making silly little mistakes which are in our control."

That solid defence allowed the Green and Whites to claw their way back into the game, with scrum-half Dan White pouncing for an opportunist try after Bristol failed to control a five-metre scrum on their own line.

However Nottingham's concentration lapses returned when, six minutes into the second half, Bristol number eight Ben Phillips picked up from the base of a five-metre scrum and fell over the line for a soft try.

The reality is that if we keep building towards these play-offs I think we're going to be a team that can handle anyone

Glenn Delaney

From this point the game began to slip away from the Green and Whites, who looked very unlikely to threaten the Bristol defence in open play. And only two penalty goals from full-back David Jackson and one from fly-half Greig Tonks kept them in touch.

The visitors went on to secure victory but Delaney feels his side are not that far away from matching the Championship leaders and is confident the play-off system will find them well set to challenge any of the best teams.

"We're not far off," Delaney added. "The reality is that if we keep building towards these play-offs I think we're going to be a team that can handle anyone."

Nottingham, who secured a 39-0 away win over Birmingham and Solihull in midweek, with Tim Streather and Jonny Baird both scoring twice, are in fifth spot in the league table.