Boyd: Saints hurting badly after Bristol defeat

Ehren Painter was penalised for what was deemed to be a deliberate knock-on in the closing seconds of the game, and Bears fly-half Sam Bedlow stepped up to win it for his side.

Saints had been 17-8 up with 12 minutes to go, but ultimately it was more misery for the men in white as Bristol bagged an 18-17 Gallagher Premiership success at Ashton Gate.

It means Boyd's side have suffered 10 successive defeats in all competitions and won just two of their past 17 matches.

And the Saints boss, who didn't want to comment on Luke Pearce's decision to penalise Painter late on, said: "We were masters of our own destiny in a lot of ways.

"We had a reasonable first half, a pretty decent start and we needed to find a way in the last 20 minutes to close the game out but we faltered in a couple of key areas.

"But I thought it was a much improved effort and our defence was much more stout.

"No one's happy to be losing but everyone is trying really hard and we've just got to be better.

"The defence was really good, particularly the stuff around the ruck and the maul.

"We knew what was coming, they're a really good tactical side and the boys tried really hard but we needed to take control of the game, get the hands on the ball, find some territory and close the game out.

"We weren't able to do it, and when you're down, those things tend to happen to you.

"The boys are hurting incredibly badly because they thought they finally got the rub of the green but it wasn't to be.

"But there is some upside and we've got to keep chipping away."