2018/2019 – What a season (no Bear puns here)

I’ve followed rugby in Bristol, firstly at The Memorial Ground and more recently at Ashton Gate, for pretty much the entirety of my 30 years. Looking back on 2018/19, I can’t really remember a season like it before.

APRIL 16, 2018: All change!

I had seen the rumour on Twitter the night before and laughed it off as utter clickbait. “No, us rebranding is nonsense, we’re an established name in English rugby, we don’t need this.” I’m having lunch in a Flax Bourton pub with my granddad when my phone buzzes. Checking it, I see the headline: “Bristol Rugby Rebrands as Bristol Bears”. Wait, what?!

Genuinely confused about it, I read on. In an effort to attract new, younger fans and a place in the global market Bristol Rugby had hit the “Create New” tab and totally reworked the club’s image on and off the pitch.

The more I read, the more I thought about it. I saw the logic of what the club was driving at and I began to not just understand the changes, but appreciate them. I liked the new logo and really liked the images of our new kit. It was at the subsequent supporters Q&A I fully embraced and signed my support on the proverbial dotted line after hearing Pat Lam’s vision and drive to help this great club and great city move forwards and up towards the Saracens and Exeter end of the rugby scale – only with (allegedly) less salary cap skulduggery and cultural appropriation.

OK then. We are the Bristol Bears. Bring it on.

AUGUST 31, 2018: Opening Night

If you wear the Blue and White (and red now) of Bristol, you are programmed to want, no need, to beat “Them Lot up the A4”, AKA B**h, Barf, etc. – in the same way Wales fans look for the England fixture, so Bristol fans’ first act is to look for the derby when the fixtures are released. (Yes Gloucester, we look for your games too, sheesh). But on this occasion, the rugby gods determined our first game back was to be The Big One, at the Gate, against the enemy.

So, of course it was a sell-out: 26,000 fans packed into Ashton Gate, making as loud and special an atmosphere the Gallagher Premiership will see all season anywhere in the country. In what would become a theme for the year, the club’s social media was on form in the run-up to the game, assuring Bath that even if it rained their fans would be dry as Ashton Gate has a roof – unlike The Rec. Bath responded by posting our team line-up as a picture of 15 Gummy Bears. I did laugh at that one I must admit.

But the game was no laughing matter – a local derby in every meaning of the word. A tough, physical affair, but a typical early season game with both sides making errors and perhaps letting the occasion get to them. That nervous element was personified by Bath’s Tom Homer, who in diving over for what seemed like a certain Bath try, let the ball slip out of his grasp, conceding a knock-on that seemed at the time like the howler to end all howlers. (Homer’s teammate, Freddie Burns, would see to it that the fullback wouldn’t keep that dubious honour just a few weeks later.)

As the game went on and stayed closer than two coats of pant, I could almost sense the city itself holding its breath, waiting for the telling moment that would win or lose the game for either side.

And so, with eight or so minutes left, it happened. From just outside the Bath 22, Luke Morahan made a break through the defensive line, managed to get the offload away to Alapati Leiua who oh-so nearly dropped it, but gathered into grateful arms and scored a try to stamp his name into the history books. Ashton Gate – and me in my flat about 15 minutes down the road – went utterly bananas and did so again when the final whistle blew. We did it, back in the big time with a bang. Played 1, Won 1

OCTOBER 7, 2018: Why is it always Worcester?

They’ve become our nemesis – a blue and yellow spanner in our works. Let’s review the evidence.

In 2015, in the Championship play-off final, at Sixways (a ground far removed from the one I visited in the mid-to-late 90s to watch David Knox do David Knox things and get sent off, as well as having a try right in front of me disallowed – I was so close I was on the HTV News package. Anyway, I digress), up by 14 points with seven minutes to go, planning our return to the Premiership, only for a collapse that will go down in the Collapses Hall of Fame….or is that Shame? They’d also sneaked a win at the end of the home leg as well.

Then, when we did get back to the Premiership in 2017, we travelled once more to Sixways, having beaten the Warriors at Ashton Gate on Boxing Day – a start of a few good results that began to instill a bit of hope we may yet pull survival off. Needing a win to edge closer to that survival-shaped carrot, only to be blown away and find ourselves 31-10 down at the break. We lost and relegation was confirmed not long after that sobering 42-24 defeat.

This time around, we went there perhaps as slight favourites, even though we had only won once since the opening night – a rain-soaked 20-13 win at home to Harlequins. But we had acquitted ourselves well in defeats to Saracens (44-23, a George Smith red card and Liam Williams scoring twice late on to slightly flatter the home side), Gloucester (35-13) and Northampton (a slightly barmy 45-40).

This series of results meant confidence was high and there was the genuine belief we could end the run of bad results against the Warriors.

We lost.

52-7.

A humiliation that I don’t want to talk about anymore, thank you very much, there’s a European adventure to embark on.

OCTOBER 2018 – JANUARY 2019: We’re all going on a European Tour, a European Tour.

Gripe Number 1 with this competition; it does somewhat baffle me that the promoted side from the Championship automatically gets European qualification, but them’s the rules and all that. This time around we joined a group that consisted of Italian side Zebre, Russian minnows Yenisey-STM Krasnoyarsk (I may have looked that full name up) and La Rochelle of France.

A good pool where second should really be a target before the tournament kicked off. The benefits of a larger squad this year meant that we could afford to rest some tired legs and injured players while fielding a team that could not just compete but get the results needed to progress.

A home 43-22 win against Zebre set us on our way, though we did suffer a close 20-17 defeat out in Italy in the return fixture a week later. Six points from two games – not bad. La Rochelle did show their class by winning 35-22 at Ashton Gate in December but that game was close for large parts. Then, at their place and in conditions that can only described as mérde, we rucked and mauled our way to a surprise 13-3 win.

The Russians unsurprisingly posed no problems and were routed in Sochi and Bristol, 65-9 and 107-19 respectively to achieve our second place target and qualification to the knockout games.

Gripe Number 2 with this competition; same with the Champions Cup, why can’t the knockout ties be decided with a random draw of teams? This would shake things up and wouldn’t automatically lead to scenarios where both Bristol and Sale drew teams they’d already played in the group stages in their respective quarter finals.

No offence to La Rochelle, who we’d play in that quarter, but I’d have loved the chance to get Clermont or Connacht. But as it is, we would return to the Atlantic Coast later in the competition.

DECEMBER 1, 2018: Read me that score again!

It had been an oh-so-frustrating-yet-oh-so-positive couple of league games leading up to the home game against Leicester. We’d been flat out robbed of a win against Exeter. I make no apologies for saying that – with the referee copping out and giving them a penalty try in the final play of the game, resulting in a 31-29 defeat. Then, up at the Ricoh we came up four points short (32-28) in a superb comeback; which, if there had been 5-10 minutes more, I’m confident would have seen us complete the comeback and get the win. In both cases we came away with losing bonus points, which would prove crucial as we progressed through the season.

Leicester vs Bristol; a game that in years gone by would have befuddled the casual observer who must have wondered why these two rugby teams had come to a fancy dress party in a costume portraying the Cryptic Crossword.

The only letters that mattered to us on this particular Saturday were M-U-S-T-W-I-N. We needed to convert some of these “close but no Blackbird” defeats into wins, especially at home. At this point, we still only had those wins against Bath and Quins – and that wouldn’t be enough for survival the closer we got to May.

What transpired was one of the more complete performances I’ve seen at this level for a long while. Helped slightly by Kyle Eastmond getting sent off for a dangerous tackle, but we would have won had they stayed at full strength, such was the domination.

Harry Thacker, who had scored a hattrick in the previous game, haunted his former employers with a brace. Harry Randall – who was continuing to come into his own as not just one of Bristol’s future stars but England’s as well (if he doesn’t end up with many an England cap in the future something, somewhere has gone wrong) – got himself on the scoresheet. But the champagne, or perhaps that should be scrumpy, moment was Luke Morahan showing Johnny May a clean pair of heels and leaving the England international eating grass as he went in to score the try of the game.

Read me that score again. 41-10. Nice. “Where be that Blackbird to?” etc., etc.

DECEMBER 30, 2018: Ending the year with a (nervy) bang

As the season progressed and the table began taking shape, the games around Christmas and the New Year were highlighted and underlined as key fixtures in our quest for survival. Sale away and Newcastle at home – if we could get two wins from two there (a very achievable goal), then that would bring survival that much closer.

Unfortunately, a slight snag was hit when Sale beat us 27-10 up at the AJ Bell; meaning the following week’s game against the Falcons became bigger than it already was.

For various reasons, this would actually be the only game I’d physically attend this season – but I picked well.

The match itself was a back-and-forth affair, with both sides showing their attacking prowess, but equally the defensive frailties that had led to their relative positions in the table prior to kick-off. The Falcons took a deserved 10-point lead into half time. In the second half, however, Bristol fired back and hugely improved, roared on by an 18,000-strong crowd, scoring three tries to one to claim an all-important 35-28 bonus point win.

It hadn’t been the win(s) we envisioned when this crucial week was talked about but one from two and five points from 10 couldn’t be sniffed at.

MARCH 1-9, 2019: Rivalry Win and Midlands Madness

It’s after weeks like this that often you’re glad the Premiership takes breaks for European and international rugby, as the fans need to calm down and take stock as to what has just happened.

Starting with a Friday night derby against a resurgent Gloucester, who were bucking their own trend of inconsistency and looking to make a real run at clinching a play-off position.

Since the turn of the year and that win over Newcastle, we had been on a run of three league defeats. A close 14-9 loss at Exeter, a 22-29 losing bonus point defeat by Wasps and a 36-26 reverse at Quins.

A win would be very nice thanks, but we’d take a losing bonus point here – especially given our recent record against Glos wasn’t full of Ws.

A great start that saw Dan Thomas score against his former team was matched by Jason Woodward doing likewise moments later – a recurring theme as seven players combined (either academy or first team squads) were playing against former employers.

Penalties from both teams took the score to 11-10 and it was boiling up into another nail-biting encounter…then Andy Uren finished a counter-attack, outpacing the covering Gloucester defence to score and put Bris back in the driving seat.

The joy was short-lived however, as two quick scores by Glos, both requiring some inch-perfect ball and body positioning, to re-take the lead.

Bristol regained control following a harsh-in-hindsight yellow to Woodward leading to a penalty try from the resulting lineout and another yellow to Slater. Cherry, White and Yellow.

It was a story of kicks to end the drama. Twelvetrees missed when it was easier to score, Madigan scored when it was easier to miss and a final Gloucester attacking lineout was snuffed out by the majority of the Bristol team on the pitch and willed on by 17,000 in the stands.

A much-needed victory.

Subsequently, if you said to me that “11-man Northampton lost to Bristol with the last kick”, I’d have said you were a useless berk and went to the wrong Northampton game – I meant The Saints not The Cobblers.

It would be my mistake as in a bizarre finish that’s exactly what transpired, leading by five points with Bristol attacking their line, Northampton conceded penalty after penalty – which led to a procession to a sin bin so full it was having to apply for planning permission to get an upstairs with en suite put in.

At this point it was almost inevitable a try would be scored and that was the case, following a rare, completed scrum the ball was shifted out to Piers O’Conor to get the try to level it and then, just as he had done eight days prior, Ian Madigan showed nerves of steel to slot the winning conversion.

Phew.

Incidentally, is this the only time two players named Piers had played against each other in the same position in the Premiership? One for the stattos out there.

APRIL 27, 2019: Safe at last!

Since the Fiasco at Franklin’s it had been a mixed bag for The Bears – a home league loss to Worcester (seriously, again? like I said earlier, nemesis), a convincing defeat in the European quarters to the impressive La Rochelle, a disappointing Twickenham loss to Bath in “The Clash” (no music puns here), but then a stunning win against Saracens – who were slightly understrength but still fielded 10 internationals and a couple of future ones too. Yet again, the Iceman Madigan kicked the winning penalty on the final whistle.

Premiership safety had in fact been confirmed the evening before with Newcastle not getting anything from their game meaning no matter what happened at Welford Road, we had done what the goal was from the start, Stay up – with everything else a bonus.

This game still meant something for the Tigers though as they were still in the danger zone themselves and knew a win would keep them safe from the drop and send Newcastle down.

In the midst of “It’s windy and rainy that means we need to give it a name apparently” conditions it was the home side who took the early advantage and an 11-6 lead approaching half time, but Callum Sheedy put a stop to any hopes of an upper hand at the interval by making a break through the defensive line and getting a deserved try.

It could have been better not long after the restart but a Bristol try was ruled out correctly for obstruction. Then Leicester took hold of the game, eking out penalties for the reliable boot of George Ford to convert into points.

Just when Welford Road was beginning to believe safety was achieved and this nightmarish season would be over, the Bears pounced with another characteristic counter attacking move which sent the impressive Dan Thomas over the try line.

The sporting clause in Sod’s Law dictates that when a club releases a really talented player, that player will come back to make a point. In this case, it’s the “Harry Thacker clause”, as the once-Tiger now-Bear, finished off a rolling maul to dot down and give Bristol the three-point lead. A lead that stuck and provided the first win at Welford Road in more than 17 years and the first ever league double over the former titan of English club rugby.

MAY 19, 2019: The Finish and the Future

The only thing this roller coaster of a season didn’t have was a draw. That box was ticked when Sale visited Ashton Gate. The game itself wasn’t much to write home about but the finish was suitably frantic. With both Ian Madigan and Faf De Klerk missing penalties on or past the 80th minute to win the game for their sides and Tom Pincus hauled down metres short even after that.

The stalemate meant that in order to sneak into the top 6 and qualify for Champions Cup rugby we had to win away at Newcastle and hope other results went our way.

We did our bit, winning 19-12 in a scrappy game but other results weren’t empathetic to the cause and we finished the 2018/2019 season a respectable 9th. With 51 points, including 13 bonus points, we equalled the record for most points by a promoted team since the Harlequins side of 2006-2007 and set a club record for bonus points gained.

So there we have it. A season that promised much largely lived up to the billing. It was a year Bristol announced the start of a new identity and mentality, we thrilled (and scared) fans with a fearless attacking style, we proved that good Championship players can hang at this level, but more importantly we met the most important goal – survival.

SUMMER 2019: Hello/Goodbye

Professional team sports have an inevitable player turnover for various reasons and so Bristol says a fond good bye and thank you to:  Jack Tovey, Jack Lam, Nick Fenton-Wells, Tusi Pisi, Nick Haining, George Smith, Joe Latta, Sione Faletau, Reiss Cullen and Ehize Ehizode.

We do welcome local lad Dave Attwood who will add valued experience to the second row when he joins from Bath and Nathan Hughes, joining from Wasps, provides another marquee name to the team.

The league will say a welcome back to London Irish and a farewell to Newcastle, I’m sure we’ll see them back soon… just not at our expense please, we’re building something great here.

Until next season. C’MON BRIS!

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