Melville pressure after Wasps make it five

Nigel Melville found an ally in Bristol coach Dean Ryan last night after bottom-of-the-table Wasps lost their seventh match on the trot and fifth in the Zurich Premiership.

After a late points rush led by Bristol's Argentine centre Felipe Contepomi's haul of 19, Ryan, a former team-mate of Melville at Wasps, said: 'I don't feel satisfaction about causing Nigel problems. I've an awful lot of respect for him and for what he's doing.

'The reason I did the England Under 21 job last season was because Nigel was doing it and I wanted to get more experience for myself.'

Ryan likened Melville's situation to his own last year and made an appeal for Wasps owner Chris Wright not to axe the former England captain. Ryan said: 'We'd lost five matches on the trot and everyone was gathering around our club and couldn't wait to see someone hang there.

'I think Nigel is one of the best coaches in the Premiership and I hope people stick around and stay with him.'

The man himself was dignified about the deteriorating situation at his club. He said: 'I don't like losing and the more you lose, the more difficult it is to get out of it. We're in there fighting hard, but minor things, little things, keep going wrong.'

Melville denied the pressure was growing on him, saying: 'I just have to get on with my job.'

He pinpointed a 44th- minute penalty try - a harsh decision for an infringement at a ruck - as the turning point of the match.

He said: 'The confidence goes with something like that and then there were the interception tries, the last thing you need.'

These were scored by Contepomi, who pounced on Alex King's 64th-minute pass and then raced 80 metres to score. The Argentine repeated the feat 14 minutes later, this time off Bristol old boy and Wasps captain Mark Denney.