More to come from Bristol's Perry
Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:29
Bristol Head Coach Richard Hill recognised after his side's 14-13 Premiership win over Northampton Saints on Sunday that the return of Shaun Perry had been crucial.
Substitute centre Luke Eves' 69th-minute try - converted by his midfield partner Ed Barnes - halted a run of 11 successive league defeats for the Shoguns.
Hill however, felt all the difference was at scrumhalf.
"We've missed him [Shaun Perry] haven't we? Graeme Beveridge has done a really good job for us. Beyond expectations really up until now," said Hill.
"But you can see the difference when Shaun comes on. He's got a cracking hard pass which Ed Barnes thrived on at 10. He's got the ability to cause problems on the break as he's so strong.
"But what he does is lift everyone else. You could see that the crowd were lifted when he came on. He just brings that hard nosed winning attitude. He wants to win all the time and we have sadly missed him.
"I put him on a little bit earlier than I'd anticipated. I was planning to leave it for a little bit longer but he was always going to come on."
"It was a big test for him. He's had a shoulder operation and hasn't played any rugby, this was his first 25 minutes. He hadn't done any contact, just hit some tackle bags but it was such an important game for us."
"He's an international quality player and we don't have too many of those so, when he's not available, we miss him."
With thanks to bristolrugby.co.uk
