Bears reportedly interested in signing Hardwick from Tigers
BRISTOL Bears are reported to be interested in bringing versatile Leicester Tigers back Tom Hardwick to Ashton Gate next season.
The Rugby Paper reported this week that out-of-favour back Hardwick, 21, is set to leave the club next summer haven fallen down the pecking order at Welford Road.
Hardwick is primarily a fly-half but Tigers have added Argentinian Joaquin Diaz Bonilla to that department, which also includes George Ford, Zack Henry and Johnny McPhillips.
Bristol look light on the ground in the fly-half department with Callum Sheedy and Ioan Lloyd now both senior Wales internationals and likely to be away from the club for long spells going forward, while the impressive Max Malins will return to Saracens at the end of the campaign, having become an England international this autumn at full-back. He joined the Bears in the summer on a season-long loan while Saracens are in the Championship, having been relegated in punishment for breaching the Premiership’s salary cap.
In the internationals’ absence, Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam has been forced to play centre Sam Bedlow at fly-half for the first time in his senior career in the first two games of the 2020-21 Gallagher Premiership, with Tiff Eden returning from a leg injury last weekend to take a place on the bench in the win against Worcester Warriors.
Below that the Bears have just 19-year-old Tom Wilstead coming through the ranks from the academy.
According to The Rugby Paper, Gloucester and French ProD2 side Grenoble are also interested in Hardwick, who is an England Under-20 international. The Cherry and Whites are understood to be looking for additional options at fly-half behind Danny Cipriani, with Lloyd Evans having just signed a new deal at Kingsholm.
Hardwick’s most recent start in the Tigers’ ten shirt was the 18-9 victory over Wasps in February.
Hardwick featured twice in the nine remaining rounds of last season when it reconvened in August, with his only start coming at inside centre against Gloucester. He has been missing from both squads selected by Steve Borthwick this term. Since he made his debut for Tigers in November 2017, he has played 32 times for the club and scored 121 points.