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Bristol's season teeters on the edge as Bears struggle to keep up with teams fresh with World Cup talent
Head back to the beginning of December and Bristol fans would have been feeling quietly confident with how their team were coasting along.
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The Bears, who only gained promotion back into the top flight of English rugby a year earlier, had sailed through November with four wins from four matches and were sitting atop the Premiership ladder.
Their sole blip in the Premiership season to date was a five-point loss away from home to the Harlequins, but solid victories against Bath, Sale and Exeter still gave Bristolians plenty to cluck about.
It was a similar story in the Challenge Cup, with the Bears cruising to bonus point victories over Zebre and Brive, who had no answer for the complete rugby that Bristol were playing.
The likes of Charles Piutau, Steven Luatua and Nathan Hughes were causing havoc, no matter what the opposition threw at the Bears.
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Come December, however, and the wheels started getting a little squeaky.
The first sign of trouble was when the Bears fell to an unexpected 27-all draw against a considerably less fancied London Irish side. Less than two months earlier, Bristol has walloped the Exiles 44-27 in the Premiership Cup.
Back-to-back wins over Stade Francais in the Challenge Cup suggested that the London Irish draw may have been just a blip on the radar, but then things really started to fall apart when the Premiership resumed.
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First up, a Saracens side looking to avoid relegation crushed the Bears 47-13.
Then the Wasps – with just one win to their name – came to Ashton Gate and secured a 26-21 victory.
Finally, Bristol were trounced 31-18 last weekend by a Leicester side that would’ve been holding last place on the Premiership ladder were it not for the Saracens’ salary cap scandal.
Three weeks; three bad losses – and now the Bears find themselves parked in the middle of the table with two difficult matches coming up against Northampton and Gloucester.
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The loss against Leicester will have impact beyond just the past weekend, however, with both Charles Piutau and John Afoa going down injured during the match.
You may recognise the name from a few years ago when this man scored 4 tries for his school in a single game. @tj_athlete talks to @RugbyPass on why he's signing for Bristol Bears. https://t.co/HhRfASQM08
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 9, 2019
The latest news suggests that Afoa will be out of action for the next two weeks while Piutau could make his return in late February.
Whilst the Bears have plenty of depth in the outside backs, Piutau has been a standout for Pat Lam’s side and sparked many a try from the fullback position. Luke Morahan, Mat Protheroe or Ian Madigan, who has been consigned to the Premiership Rugby Shield with Bristol’s A-team, could be called upon to take Piutau’s place – solid players, but none possesses the all-round game of the former All Black, nor the outrageous X-factor.
Bristol’s saving grace is that the Premiership will take a back seat for the next two weeks with European rugby taking over until the end of January.
The Bears, who are 10 points clear of Brive in their Challenge Cup pool, could throw away their next two fixtures and would still almost certainly qualify for the knockout stages of the competition, which gives Lam some time to right the ship.
For the sake of the players’ confidence, however, any more losses on the trot would be disastrous to the Bears’ campaign.
Lam will want his charges to reassert themselves as one of England’s top dogs over the coming weeks, with gimmie matches against Brive and Zebre the perfect opportunity for Bristol to bank some points, flex some muscles and get the engine churning for when Premiership rugby resumes on January 25.
Whatever happens over the next couple of weekends, however, Bristol will need to be at their best when they host Gloucester then travel to Franklin’s Gardens to take on Northampton, who are currently ranked second on the table.
With just five rounds to play in the Premiership, and just a single point separating Bristol in 5th from the Harlequins in 8th, there’s a very real chance of the Bears finding themselves languishing in a similar position to last year when the season draws to a close.
The best @BristolBears team of the last decade?
– @alexshawsport picks his 15 for 10 ???https://t.co/xOeYbadt2P
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 30, 2019
A spot in the Champions Cup for next season would have been Lam’s minimum goal for the current year, but a spot in the semi-finals is still very much within Bristol’s reach.
Saracens’ 35-point penalty has opened the door for last year’s mid-table sides to really push for a spot in the playoffs – and Bristol aren’t the only team that can smell the knockout games.
Should the Bears fail to take the season back by the scruff of the neck then pundits will rightly start to ask whether the early season successes were mainly a product of some of the bigger teams having to forge on without their stars from the 2019 World Cup.
Just five of Bristol’s current squad were required for World Cup duties but none of those players were called upon by England, who bowed out in the final on November 2. Instead, Alapati Leuia, Chris Vui, James Lay and Jordan Lay represented Samoa while Siale Piutau captained Tonga.
Samoa and Tonga were bundled out of the competition during the pool stages, which meant Bristol kicked off the Premiership season with all hands on deck.
Further, the likes of Charles Piutau, Afoa and Steven Luatua would have all likely been called up for the World Cup if New Zealand didn’t have such a stringent selection policy, which meant Bristol had access to a number of top-quality players from day one.
In fact, Bristol had a very easy run of it when compared with some of their early opponents.
Bath, who were the Bears’ first prey, were without Sam Underhill, Jonathan Joseph, Joe Cokanasiga, Ruaridh McConnochie, Anthony Watson (all England) and Francois Louw (South Africa) – whose nations both progressed to the World Cup final.
England show their hand ahead of the 2020 under-20s Six Nations
https://t.co/OFK3UHUnRG— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 3, 2020
Exeter had access to their full complement of players when they fell to Bristol in Round 4, but that match took place just a week after the final, which gave the Chiefs’ stars little time to acclimatise to the Premiership.
In fact, Bristol haven’t managed a win over a fellow English side since the World Cup stars were all fully integrated into their teams – which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the season.
A run of bad form and injuries to key players could see Bristol’s season come to a train crash of an end if they aren’t able to pull themselves together in the coming weeks. The Challenge Cup, with three rounds of knockout matches to navigate, will never be a sure thing for the Bears and the glory of making the sudden death stages of the Premiership for the first time in almost 15 years should be the real goal for Pat Lam’s men.
Of course, success in the Premiership will require the Bristol Bears to put their recent poor performances against English teams aside and reaffirm their capabilities – and they may have to do that without their star player.
WATCH: RugbyPass went behind the scenes with the Barbarians rugby team, the most famous team in the world.
Comments on RugbyPass
I hope WRU cops a 12 month ban.
1 Go to commentsOuch. Pumped. Even Nohamba is a better flyhalf than Ford.
2 Go to commentsI hope Leinster’s proud of themselves fielding a poor team. They should decide if they’re all in or not.
2 Go to commentsJordie is looking at 16 games maximum if Leinster reach both the URC and champions cup finals. Thats not guaranteed. Some of those home URC fixtures will be cakewalks as well for Leinster and there is not much doing during the 6 nations in Feb and March so he can probably get a decent rest then. He will have to really put in it for maybe 7 or 8 games max. It should be a good move for both.
13 Go to commentsThe game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
31 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
13 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
13 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
6 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
27 Go to comments