Bristol Bears lock down 'dynamic' Samoan Alapati Leiua to new deal
Alapati Leiua has committed his future to Bristol Bears. The explosive utility back is an integral member of Pat Lam’s squad, scoring five tries in Gallagher Premiership Rugby so far during the current campaign.
Samoan international Leiua pens a two-year extension, tying him to the Bears until 2021.
“We’re delighted that Alapati [Leiua] has agreed to continue being a big part of the Bristol Bears journey going forward. He’s been a key player for us and a positive influence on and off the field with his experience in the game,” said head coach Pat Lam.
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In other news: Premiership Rugby say they intend to ‘formally’ investigate the leaking of minutes.
“Alapati consistently shows that he is one of the most dynamic players in the competition and he will be a major asset for us going forward. He is enjoying his rugby and the team environment – we’re excited to see what he can accomplish in the next two years.”
The 30-year-old – who joined Bristol in the summer of 2017 – has made 24 appearances for Samoa.
Leiua is rated as the Gallagher Premiership’s 11th best centre in the RugbyPass Index, with an RPI of 65 and an impressive line break score of 85.
? Pace
? Power
? Ferocious hits?? Signed until 2?0?2?1?.#Le2ua pic.twitter.com/bjaom7ou2a
— Bristol Bears ? (@BristolBears) January 8, 2019
Leiua added: “I’m loving my time at Bristol Bears, so it was an easy decision to commit my future. There is a clear vision in place at the club and everybody knows what is expected of them.
“It’s a really positive environment to be a part of and I’m enjoying my rugby under Pat [Lam] and the coaching team. The focus for us now is to keep pushing up the Gallagher Premiership table and working hard to achieve our goals.”
Watch: RugbyPass Originals: The Bear Pit – RugbyPass behind-the-scenes as Bristol Bears prepare for top flight.
Leiua follows fellow-Samoan Chris Vui (RPI – 59) in signing a new deal at the club. The influential lock’s three-year deal was announced on Christmas Eve and keeps him at Ashton Gate until 2022.
Vui was a key part of Bristol’s fast start to the season and has cemented himself into the club’s first-choice engine room pairing, bringing all of the leadership qualities that has seen him made captain of the Samoan national side.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments