The Bear with the inside line on Bath rivals
Eight months ago Will hurrell was trying his hardest to earn Bath league points. Next week he will be doing everything in his power to deny them. hurrell, 28, spent a couple of months behind enemy lines last season as he was loaned out to derby rivals Bath and quickly became a regular at the Rec. however the powerful centre says any friendships formed will be left at the door to Ashton gate should he be involved in the opening game of the new gallagher Premiership season. hurrell said: “Whenever there is that history there you want to play well but for me it is about taking each game at a time in these pre-season games and hopefully put my name in there for the starting jersey. “i would obviously love to play and i would love to do well,” he added. “it is friendly but i am sure that will change as we walk onto the pitch as both teams will want to get off to a good start.” hurrell joined Bath at the end of January as they faced a crisis in the centres, with injuries and international call-ups leaving them short. Since then Bath have signed Welsh great Jamie Roberts and Jackson Willison from Worcester Warriors. hurrell says his time at the Premiership side has elevated his game, which all Bristol fans will be hoping will come back to haunt their neighbours. he said: “it was good, it is good to find out what a different culture is like and i met some new boys and playing with them actually opened up my eyes about some elements of my game. i learnt a lot going there and they have got a good set of lads there. “Pat [Lam, Bristol head coach] and todd [Blackadder, Bath director of rugby] know each other quite well and they are quite similar in their approach, so it was nice to step into an environment with a lot of the same values. “They didn’t do quite as well as they wanted in the Premiership last season and they will be wanting to do better this season. “They are going to have made a lot of changes from last season because they didn’t do particularly well and i think people are going to be a bit unsure what we are going to bring to the table as well. “i think it is going to be really tough and a really tight game.” games don’t get much tighter than when the two sides last met in the league, with Bristol beating Bath 12-11 back in February 2017, thanks to four penalties from gavin henson. hurrell started that day but is one of only six survivors from the 23-man squad which won as Pat Lam has rung the changes since his arrival last summer, with 21 new signings for this season as the club look to end their cycle of promotion and relegation. hurrell admitted there is plenty of opposition for a starting spot in the centres but insists competition is healthy, driving the standards upwards. hurrell explained: “The new arrivals are class, Charles Piutau, ian Madigan, george Smith,and tusi Pisi and Siale Piutau in my position, they all bring different things to the table but we are all looking to push each other on and we are all trying to be better. “george [Smith] has not even been here for long and we have already spoken about tackling and turnovers which is something i like to do, so it is just great to have that knowledge.” While the rivalry with Bath is fierce Lam has not allowed his side to get carried away, and his message that this is just any old game appears to be filtering down with the players. hurrell said: “We concentrate on our stuff, and what we want to do. “There are set things we always want to do, obviously there are some things we change after analysis but we concentrate on ourselves and try to control the controllables. “it would be huge to win the first game of the season, with the big rivalry as well, we are gunning for that win and it would be a great way to start.” Wouldn’t it just.