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Bristol's Lindsay to retire after impressive 16-year career in English game

Bristol's Tom Lindsay has announced his retirement. (Picture by Phil Mingo/PPAUK/.Gallagher)

Bristol’s Tom Linsay has announced that he will retire from professional rugby at the end of his current contract, bringing the curtain down on an impressive 16-year career. The 32-year-old, who joined Bristol ahead of the 2018/19 season, also represented Wasps, Gloucester and Bedford Blues.

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“Tom is massively respected by the players and, as RPA (Rugby Players Association) ambassador for the club, he has done a great job in not only contributing to the Bears vision as a player, but also representing the views of the squad on a number of issues,” said Bristol Director of Rugby Pat Lam.

“We congratulate Tom on his career – he established himself as a Premiership performer from a young age and we were all impressed by the impact he had at Bedford too, which was why I brought him to Bristol.

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“Tom has aspirations to be a coach and his work as forwards coach with Bears Women last season has underlined his leadership quality and understanding of the game.

‘We wish Tom and Millie all the best for the next chapter and thank him for his commitment to Bristol.”

An advocate for mental health awareness, Lindsay was closely involved in a number of Bears Community Foundation programmes during his time with the club.

He added: “It feels like the right time for me to step away from playing professionally and pursue my ambitions to move into coaching.

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“I’ve absolutely loved working with Bears Women and hopefully that can continue, while I’m also exploring other opportunities too.

“It has been a privilege to represent Wasps, Gloucester, Bedford and Bristol during my career and I’m grateful to my teammates, the staff and the supporters who have made it such a special experience throughout.

“Rugby teaches you brilliant life lessons around teamwork, leadership and humility – I hope that I can pass on some of that experience in whatever I do next.

“I want to pass on my thanks to the RPA too, they do a fantastic job in supporting players across the country and it’s been fantastic to be involved in that.

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“My wife and I love Bristol as a city and we have made some great friends here – I wish the Bears the very best for the future.”

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cw 4 hours ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Thanks JW for clarifying your point and totally agree. The ABs are still trying to find their mojo” - that spark of power that binds and defines them. Man the Boks certainly found theirs in Wellington! But I think it cannot be far off for ABs - my comment about two coaches was a bit glib. The key point for me is that they need first a coach or coaches that can unlock that power and for me that starts at getting the set piece right and especially the scrum and second a coach that can simplify the game plans. I am fortified in this view by NBs comment that most of the ABs tries come from the scrum or lineout - this is the structured power game we have been seeing all year. But it cannot work while the scrum is backpeddling. That has to be fixed ASAP if Robertson is going to stick to this formula. I also think it is too late in the cycle to reverse course and revert to a game based on speed and continuity. The second is just as important - keep it simple! Complex movements that require 196 cm 144 kg props to run around like 95kg flankers is never going to work over a sustained period. The 2024 Blues showed what a powerful yet simple formula can do. The 2025 Blues, with Beauden at 10 tried to be more expansive / complicated - and struggled for most of the season.

I also think that the split bench needs to reflect the game they “want” to play not follow some rote formula. For example the ABs impact bench has the biggest front row in the World with two props 195cm / 140 kg plus. But that bulk cannot succeed without the right power based second row (7, 4, 5, 6). That bulk becomes a disadvantage if they don’t have a rock solid base behind them - as both Boks showed at Eden Park and the English in London. Fresh powerful legs need to come on with them - thats why we need a 6-2 bench. And teams with this split can have players focused only on 40 minutes max of super high intensity play. Hence Robertson needs to design his team to accord with these basic physics.



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