Bristol coach Jordan Crane makes case for keeping key pathway alive

Bristol Bears defence coach Jordan Crane hopes there will always be a place for a cup competition for Gallagher PREM sides, as he believes it is better for player development than loan spells at National League clubs.

Crane, 40, has seen the Bears win one of their three games in the PREM Rugby Cup this season, but he believes the competition helps create a smoother pathway to senior rugby.

And the former England international, who joined the Bears coaching staff when he retired from playing six years ago, points out that players are keen to pull on the shirt of the club they sign for in any competition.

“I definitely think we have to create a pathway for our younger players to come through and to be able to create that pressure for them. I don’t feel like going out on loan all the time is the answer because you want them to play for the club that you sign for, don’t you? You want to play for the Bears or whoever you’re playing for.

“So I think there’s definitely something in whether it’s this competition in a shortened format or whether it’s an under-23s team, whatever it is, there needs to be a competition.

“When I came through, there was obviously A-League. You’d play 12 fixtures, and there was opportunity in the Prem Cup or Anglo-Welsh when it was then.

“So there were lots of these opportunities to be able to play for the club that you have signed for, and that creates a smoother transition to the first team,” he told RugbyPass.

Crane says that he has very happy memories of the Cup as a player with Leeds Tykes, who beat Bath 20-12 in the 2005 final, and during a decade at Welford Road with Leicester Tigers, who lost 23-6 in the Angloru-Welsh Cup final three years later.

“When I was at Leeds, and it was called Powergen, I was part of the squad that won it for Leeds. I didn’t play any games, so I won’t take any credit for it, but it was like a full knockout tournament with the National League teams as well.

“The memories of Leicester were that I got great opportunities and played a lot in that competition, especially in my first year and then just seeing a lot of players develop coming through there, performing well.

“But the thing for me was the finals were always at Twickenham, and they were always big, big occasions,” added Crane, who leads the Bears in the competition.