1
{{item.n}}
It’s time to learn exactly how grizzly Scott Lawson’s Bears might prove
Bristol Bears are about razzamatazz, with the ‘r’ rolled, a cheeky wink, and the implication of a lit fuse just out of shot.
They’re offloads and wraparounds – eyes, tails, and giddy on up – and numbers on backs as redundant as trying to stop Sarah Bern all on your own.
They’re West Country roots and sky-high canopies, facilities which gleam like Millie David’s heels, and an attack coach in Tom Luke who moonlights as a superstar whisperer: coaxing the world’s glitziest to BS3.
VIDEO
They’re megawatt and mega-good with it, and so it’s rather strange – all things considered – to be chatting to their new head coach, Scott Lawson, who spent 16 dogged years with his head in the spokes of Glasgow, Gloucester, Newcastle, and Scotland, about how they find themselves sat second from bottom of Premiership Women’s Rugby.
Starting with a bye week was atrocious for numerics and optics, they were ‘clinical and relentless’ against Leicester Tigers in their eventual opener, and then Saracens laid waste to Shaftesbury Park. “That Tigers fixture didn’t tell us much about where we were, and – suddenly – things got intense. We’re in the thick of it now, game to game, with precious little time to assess.”
They hurtled from West Country to West London, where Trailfinders Women were just starting to find their groove and the drought continued. With four rounds gone – Bristol have five points: languishing eighth in what’s essentially an eight-team league.
The 47-time international, who was named Dave Ward’s successor in June, isn’t panicking in the slightest.
As he observes, we’ve torn, via an immaculate World Cup, from the shortest ever PWR to one – gun to ticker tape – a veritably eternal 248 days. Not only is time on Bears’ side, but they’re a measly five points off the pace. The league’s also never felt more open, competitive, or attritional and so those in contention will be merrily lopping points off one another right through until June 7th, when tickets to the post-season party arrive.
Bristol haven’t gained much in the way of table altitude, but they’ve certainly deepened their squad – already using 16 players who weren’t involved in March’s semi-final – for whom the softly-spoken 44-year-old is full of praise.
They’ve had to. Availability has been a massive issue. No Lark Atkin-Davies, Hannah Botterman, Lana Skeldon, Elliann Clark, or Meryl Smith so far and losing the velvety Phoebe Murray 21 minutes into their campaign was a hammer blow. Combine that with Amber Reed’s retirement, and the departure of Holly Aitchison, Gabriella Nigrelli, Deborah Wills, Courtney Keight, Lucy Burgess and Ilona Maher, and it becomes apparent that we’ve not really seen Bears at all this campaign.
“We’re a top four side, and have been for a while now,” he mused. “That comes with expectation, in terms of results, but also how we play. We’re a possession-based team: we need ball – good ball – to play the Bears way, and we just haven’t had the core of players who allow us that consistently.”
The role was advertised in the spring, and Lawson’s CV – which includes stints with Scotland age grade and women, and Glasgow Warriors’ Academy – was dusted off for several reasons.
“Each club in the PWR is unique, with their selling points and challenges, but Bears was instantly appealing.”
The wider club’s reputation and impact within the local community, the way its women’s programme is valued, the stars shuttling out the end of their pathway’s conveyor belt, and the inspirational humans and rugby fielded each week were enough to lure him 430 miles south. Even whilst his family remain north of the border.
A seismic shift, not just in terms of latitude, but the role itself. His head coach remit is vast, and within a competition which – he confesses – is uncharted territory for him.
View this post on Instagram
Other newcomers in his position, he notes, are steeped in the PWR’s particulars – from Dan Murphy to Ross Chisholm, and back again via Tom Hudson – but he’s “working as hard as I can to understand the people, game, and nuances of what’s a highly competitive league. Even around all the change, I’ve tried to stick to my values, and continue to be someone who goes all-in with everything I commit to.”
Sticking to principles is key, he continues – and very much applies to firmly saying ‘no’ to appearing in TikToks.
“I’ve declined repeatedly on that front,” he deadpanned. “It’s all about knowing your strengths and weaknesses.”
Bears’ strengths, as this column has explored in the past, famously include scoring points. Prettily. Top of the charts for carries, defenders beaten, and clean breaks last season. And peerlessly exacting in the red zone. The Bears Way comes with a side of ‘oohs’ as standard. It’s sequinned, feathered stuff – arduously honed and then spectacularly revealed via a cloche offloaded out the back door. It’s not, if we’re being honest, an intuitive fit with Scott Lawson nuggety, industrious, and cool-headed.
And, yet.
“It was, actually, another thing about this job which really appealed. We’re entertainers, and that runs right from Steve Lansdowne and through the whole club. I’ve fully bought into that, and want to keep it – whilst also finding a way to win PWR.”
View this post on Instagram
The evolution started with a clarification of B-E-A-R-S’ values. That first initial, infamously, calls for ‘bravery’, but “relieving pressure doesn’t mean you’re not being brave. It means you’re being smart. Making the right decision, so that you stay competitive, is essential – and there’s a courage in edging the tight moments. That’s my challenge, helping us cross the line without suppressing these amazing, sometimes unpredictable athletes.”
The dial won’t settle immediately. “We could’ve played more against Saracens and Trailfinders. We weren’t true to ourselves”, and that’s fine. “We have faith we’re doing the right thing. It’ll just take time for those small changes to make a big difference.”
What should have an immediate impact is their shiny new fly-half.
“I am truly, truly excited to be bringing someone of her quality here; to see Ruahei Demant in a Bears shirt.”
The New Zealand skipper landed last week, and should debut against the reigning champions this Sunday, further testament to the programme’s pulling power, and a Fern to nestle in Tom Luke’s cap. Alongside the Eagle feather he tucked away last season.
The Bristol attack coach had turned to recruiting Ilona Maher with the obsessive focus he usually reserves for ski erg sessions and has pulled off yet another coup here.
“His knowledge of the women’s game is astonishing – he knows every player in the world – and was at the heart of Ruahei’s signing.”
The conversation started over six months ago. The West Country outfit were initially drawn to her skillset, knowledge, experience and her 2022 World Player of the Year gong, and laid out the red carper to entice the 30-year-old to their values, style of play, and facilities – which were visited on her behalf during the World Cup by NZR.
The out-half can’t wait to experience a different culture, whilst wrapping her head around Northern Hemisphere footie. They’re certain she’ll make waves on and off the field.
It’s quite the introduction to the league for ‘Lu’. The three-peaters, at Ashton Gate Stadium, and over two months since she was screaming over the Allianz Stadium whitewash for bronze. But these occasions are exactly what she’s been brought in for.
“Gloucester Hartpury have been pretty robust in all areas, haven’t they?” Lawson pondered. “It’s very apparent why they’re triple champions.”
The hosts can’t wait. A fortnight to tighten screws, restore some heavyweights, and bed in their shiniest new toy before they hit the lightning-quick track of the club’s home. In front of the TNT Sports cameras for the first time this season. This was a fixture, Lawson admits, that he circled immediately in his calendar. A date with the best domestic side in the women’s game and a rematch of that scintillating semi-final.
There’s the very real sense that that first block, for Bristol, was the warm-up act: a month of finding feet and plugging gaps. On Sunday, the gloves come off – as the champions enter the ring – and we’ll learn exactly how grizzly Lawson’s Bears might prove.