'People mocked us about the Care Bears and stuff like that... but Bears is now part of our fabric'
Pat Lam has had a wry chuckle about sceptics who mocked Bristol when they officially became the Bristol Bears two years ago following a name change. On the verge of becoming Championship champions at that time in April 2018, owner Steve Lansdown controversially decided to ramp up the razzmatazz ahead of the club’s return to the Gallagher Premiership by renaming them in the hope that it would attract a new generation of supporters.
The rebrand was dismissed in certain quarters as a marketing gimmick, particularly the accompanying 19-page brochure where comparisons with the bear, which referenced physicality, spirit, hunger and fearlessness as well as awakening from hibernation, caused much mirth.
Even the Bristol Rugby Supporters Club weren’t impressed, its treasurer Mike West commenting on the BBC: “I’m not best pleased… I’m confused about why – this is a club that has been around since 1888 and is one the oldest rugby clubs that still exists at the highest levels. I don’t understand why they have suddenly contorted the name after 130 years without some reference. People don’t go bear in Bristol that often. In the Premiership next season the opposition fans will surely be calling us Yogis, or Boo Boos or the Fuzzies.”
However, with Bristol sitting third in the Premiership when the current season was suspended indefinitely last month and attracting average crowds of 17,916 to Ashton Gate, coach Lam has declared the name change to the Bears a success that is now driving them on during the sport’s current suspension.
Speaking on Bristol Sport TV about the two-year anniversary of the controversial name change, Lam said: “There was a little bit of controversy there but I went straight to Steve, why Steve, why the Bears? When he talked to me about the spirit of the bear, he talked to me about the bear, the qualities of the bear that will look after its community, that when it needs to defend its ground it will.
'I actually had to retire over a Zoom call. I had all the boys, all the staff and there is me getting emotional'
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“But the biggest thing is that it will look after the people within that whole community and that is all around the place. I suppose it aligned so much with my coaching philosophy, that it is not just about winning rugby.
“I know people mocked us about ‘oh, the Care Bears’ and stuff like that but that is actually what I want people to see in our staff and in our players, that we do care about our community, and when it is time to be aggressive and have that winning instinct – it has that too – but more importantly it will stand its ground and it will defend our community.
“At the time it was just an idea and, like our vision, to sit back now and look at it and think how far we have come that it is just part of our fabric, it’s who we are, it’s what we are about and it will hold us in good stead and it will get us through this challenging time and we will come out of it an even stronger club I believe.”
Bears was the second time in the past 20 years the club adopted a nickname, having previously taken the name Bristol Shoguns as part of a sponsorship deal.
Comments on RugbyPass
It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments