Head Coach Sean Holley is pleased to get the win over Edinburgh but he says there's a "fair bit of work to do" before Heineken Cup double-header against Munster.
Speaking to the media after the match, he said:
“We’re satisfied with the overall result but we could have been pushing on for the bonus point in the second half. To their credit, Edinburgh made life pretty difficult for us, Rob (Moffatt) obviously said something to them at half time and whereas they’d struggled to get to the ball and have a real impact at the breakdown it was far more competitive in the second period.
“With so many boys coming back, especially those we introduced in the second half, it got a little fragmented which you’d expect. You’ve got to look at it in realistic terms and we’re satisfied with the win even though there’s still a fair bit of work to do.
“The job was done in terms of getting the result we needed. Aspects of the performance were good, our lineout functioned well and there was a lot of endeavour, in the first half in particular, but we didn’t put them away.
“When you make so many changes in the second half, and the boys have been away for a while, that’s going to happen, so plenty to work on but we are one step nearer.
“We are used to this sort of thing, we half expected some of the things we saw out there tonight but at least we scored 30plus points and got the job done. We’ve got Munster back to back now and it’s no different for them, they’ve missed a lot of boys over the last month or so, so it’s just about who gels the quickest.
“It’s a big couple of weeks coming up, there’s another step up needed from us, Alun Wyn just told the boys in the dressing room that there we are 10 per cent away at the moment. They recognise that, as coaches we recognise that, and over the next eight days until we go to Munster that will be our focus.
“I thought Dan was efficient with the boot and he was the same last week to give him credit. I think he’s found it quite difficult the last couple of weeks to pick himself up but he’s put some performances in and he’s come back strong. I can understand some of the frustrations at times tonight, at times we shared the feelings, there were opportunities to run it, particularly from deep, that we didn’t take.
“People want to see the ball kept in hand and I can understand that, but sometimes you have to realise that its cold out there, conditions are changing as the evening goes on and there 15 men pressurising you, stopping you doing what you really want to do. Sometimes you have to be pragmatic about it and look to play territory, particularly the way our lineout was operating tonight. Quite often it’s just a bounce the other way from being a great kick that people are applauding
“Richard Hibbard was outstanding tonight and thoroughly deserved the man of the match award. He had a big game last week and I challenged him to back it up tonight, to show some consistency. His contribution around the pitch, as well as at the set piece was excellent, and his lineout throwing was first class. I thought the lineout went really well, Ian Evans did a good job of calling, it was very pleasing.
“Justin Tipuric is a player that we’ve quietly brought through the ranks here, we’ve held high hopes for him and he has really grown this season, he’s taken his opportunity and shown what a prospect he is. The only word to describe his try is sublime, back row forwards shouldn’t be doing that sort of thing! I’m really pleased for him, he is enjoying his rugby and is always looking to learn off the likes of Marty and Filo in training.
“We’ve tried all ways to reintegrate the international players over the years and it’s not always gone smoothly. This year we gave the boys three or four days off, just to refresh mentally, which puts pressure on us in terms of how much time we had with them to prepare for tonight’s game. We’ve got through tonight and there are positives to take from it. Clearly there are areas to work on and we’ll spend next week doing just that.
“We’re always positive. We’re looking reasonably healthy in terms of the squad and some boys got a good run out there tonight which will benefit them. There’s a lot of competition for places, so it should be an interesting week coming up."