'There was a bit of bitchiness in camp, it was a pretty bad place to be' - Callum Sheedy on Bristol before Lam
It’s been quite a profitable routine at Bristol. Haul Callum Sheedy, the starting out-half, off around the hour mark and then watch replacement Ian Madigan bank all the glory with a late intervention off the kicking tee.
Three times in the last eight weeks it has happened, the Irish play-maker delivering in the closing moments in the Gallagher Premiership. He clipped Saracens’ wings a fortnight ago, his penalty bagging a 23-21 win, and during March, his touchline conversion secured a 26-24 success at Northampton eight days after his penalty sealed the 28-24 derby triumph against Gloucester.
It’s the sort of headline grabbing contribution that could make Sheedy jealous, but not a jot. Anything that helps the team succeed is more than welcome. “Mads is one of my best mates at the club,” Sheedy told RugbyPass. “He’s brilliant and I will take that all day. If I can do okay for 60 minutes and then he comes on and wins the game, I’m more than happy with that. No worries about that.
“It would be easy to sort of pretend you are matey with your opposite number. At the end of the day you’re competing for the same jersey and you want to start. I want to be No10. Mads wants to be No10. Don’t get me wrong, there is big competition, but at the end of the day we are really good friends off the pitch and on the pitch that is what is making us both play so well this season.
“If Mads gets the chance, I have no doubt he will have an outstanding game and it will put the pressure on. If I get the chance to play 10, I want to do my best to put Mads under pressure. Having that competition in the squad – and it’s pretty much in every position from one to 15 – if you have that pressure on yourself to keep the shirt you’re only going to improve. If you don’t improve then the guy behind you is going to take your place. It’s special what we have got now as the squad.”
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It wasn’t always the case at a yo-yo club that endured some turbulent times before Pat Lam arrived with his vision to turn Bristol into a powerhouse capable of consistently competing in the Premiership. Now 23, Sheedy is thrilled with the transformation.
“I’ve been at the club five years,” he said, embarking on an interesting then and now comparison. “My first season, Andy Robinson was in charge and it was the year we lost to Worcester in the Championship play-off final. That was pretty dark times.
“Andy Robinson was a great man. I enjoyed working under him, but we probably just didn’t have that cohesion as a team, we were quite cliquey. It was little groups here and there, probably not as harmonious as we are now.
“The next season we managed to get promoted, happy days. Then the year after was the Premiership season where we won I think two games the whole year and it was pretty dark. Everyone was wondering who was going to play, no-one knew who was first and second choice. There was a bit of bitchiness in camp, it was a pretty bad place to be.
“Then Pat came in and stripped everything down. It was like, ‘This is my vision, you’re either on the bus or off the bus’. Pat had no problem if players wanted to be off the bus. He only wants players on the bus who are fully committed to the cause.
“It’s a cliched thing to say, but at the moment the camp we have is literally like going to work with your 40 best mates. You turn up for work and you genuinely enjoy it. Pat makes it a really enjoyable environment and you can tell by a few of our results, beating Saracens with six or seven injuries. It’s just a really good place to be and everyone is really exited by how we are going.”
The stark choice of being on or off the Lam bus was put to Sheedy not long after the Samoan breezed in the door at Ashton Gate. He’d just come off a season where he’d even been loaned out to Jersey. Now, nearly two years later, he hasn’t forgotten the jolting message delivered in that career-shaping conversation.
“We did a one-on-one when he first came in and I’d just come back from a lengthy injury with my hamstring and was probably nowhere near as good as I am now. I was pretty average. My skillset was average, I wasn’t working hard enough.
“He said to me you have a raw talent. If you want to put the work in, then you can become something, but if you want to become lazy – and I was pretty lazy at the time – then you’re not going to get much further.
“He really pushes extra skills so on a day off, he will put skills on optionally. He’s really keen on boys if they’re not 100 per cent confident in their pass, their kick, you put the hours in, you put the work in and you will reap the benefits.
“He was the one that taught me to go out and get the extra work in because when I was young I was lacking. I thought, ‘Oh, I’m decent enough’. But to go to next level you have really got to put the hours in. He taught me that.”
Sheedy’s lineage is an example of how the Bears are a cosmopolitan melting pot during the Lam era. He appeared for both Wales and Ireland at underage levels (his mum’s Welsh, his dad Irish), while he is currently English qualified through residency. “It’s an odd one, isn’t it?” he said about his international status, but he is very much settled in Bristol where the rugby club is increasingly becoming a respected part of the wider community.
Take a look at last week’s @BristolBears #TrainWithYourHeroes session at @Cheddar_Rugby. The U10s were coached by #GallagherPrem stars @ljmorahan, @Sheedy95 and @hazrandall9 ? pic.twitter.com/RfDMJ1jxeR
— Gallagher UK (@GallagherUK) April 26, 2019
“The last couple of years we have been getting out a lot more, getting a lot more community stuff done. Even players who probably wouldn’t play a hell of a lot of first-team games, people still recognise them and that has been brilliant.
“You go down to the shops and people are stopping you and talking about the games. It feels like we’re really cohesive with the fans and have got a really good bond. The social media team is really linked to the fans – the fans almost feel the are like part of the squad and that’s a real special feeling,” continued Sheedy, one of the Bears who delivered a Gallagher Insurance Train with your Heroes session to the Cheddar RFC under-10s.
He understands the importance of these relationships, reflecting on his own youthful encounter with some Cardiff Blues players. “When I was 10 or 11 and we had a few Blues players come down. They were only with us for 20 minutes and they didn’t do a hell of of a lot, but just seeing them there, it was ‘I want to be that guy’. It really gave you a little boost and made you just want to play the best you can and enjoy it even more.
“Pat’s vision is to inspire the community through rugby success and the first part of that is us as rugby players getting out and seeing the young kids. Their faces light up when they see us and there is no better feeling. Pat’s real keen on us getting out and about and it helps when we’re winning games.
“Two years ago you’d turn up to our Premiership game and it was like, ‘Are we going to get a 50-pointer (beating) today’ whereas now you turn up for the Saracens game and people are genuinely expecting you to beat the champions.
“The fact that we have given the fans that hope and that expectation, it puts a bit more pressure on us but we love it. It’s brilliant for the fans. They’re incredible. We’d 14,500 again the other week and we’re averaging over 13,000. It’s such a special place.”
?| Is there a better sight than one of the biggest legends in rugby leading our victory song? ?
UP THE BEARS! ? pic.twitter.com/xuhC3xRwu6
— Bristol Bears ? (@BristolBears) April 20, 2019
This weekend, though, they must succeed on the road if they are to keep alive ambitions of the top six finish that will secure Champions Cup qualification. That won’t be easy given their own inconsistencies away from Ashton Gate and Leicester’s dire need to quell the threat of relegation.
“We want to get 15 points from the last three games and if that is enough to get in the top six, fantastic. If it’s not we will have done all we can in the last three games. We have dropped a few points away from home in games we could have won, but that is all part of the learning process.
“Welford Road is a real tough place to go and win. Leicester have had a difficult season but they had a good win at Newcastle, so they’re on the up. It’s going to be a huge task but we have a young group mixed with experience and we’ll be buzzing going up there.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to comments