BEARS NECESSITIES

Coach Lam orders promoted Bristol to live up to their new name by ‘being aggressive and protecting their patch’

PAT LAM sends Bristol back into Premiership battle demanding they play like the Bears they are now named after.

It is a decade since Bristol last survived a season in English rugby’s top flight, since when they have twice been relegated and spent eight years in the second tier.

They mark their return with a derby clash against Bath at Ashton Gate, where expectations are raised by 21 new arrivals, six making their competitive debuts tonight. Bristol have been here before, recruiting heavily following promotion only for lofty aspirations to turn to dust.

The difference this time is they have Lam’s know-how to compliment owner Steve Lansdown’s financial might.

The Samoa great underlined his coaching credentials in May when his Barbarians team handed England their biggest defeat for 20 years.

And he is no less ambitious for his Championship winners, changing the mindset of the yo-yo club by banning talk of survival.

Instead, he has instructed his players to talk and behave like champions – because “the chances of us becoming champions then goes up”.

And he has called on them to take on the characteristics of the bear this evening and “be aggressive and to protect their patch”.

Lam said: “The No.1 thing is getting everyone to believe in where we are going.

“We talk about where we want to be as history shows us that when Bristol were all worried about survival it didn’t work.” He demonstrated that ambition by requesting Bath as the opening fixture, Now he needs the players to do their bit.

“You can have an animal that will go for the kill every time, but that is not what a bear is about,” he added.

“When it needs to do the damage, it will, to protect its own, to look after its own community. But it has its softer side.

“I don’t want kids to look at our players and feel they are intimidating. But when it comes to rugby, I want the quality of that bear on show.”