Rugby Bears’ brave attacking style can prove risky in top flight
AFTER back-to-back victories in the Gallagher Premiership, Bristol Bears lost 27-25 at Ashton Gate to Worcester Warriors on Saturday.
Bristol scored tries through Callum Sheedy and Luke Morahan, while referee Luke Pearce gave an early penalty try. But Worcester touched down three times, through Ted Hill, Josh Adams and Ben Te’o while Duncan Weir’s 12-point haul from the tee proved the difference.
In the Premership standings, the defeat leaves them seven points clear of bottom side Newcastle, and a return to the Championship, but four points outside the top six and the prospect of Champions Cup rugby next season. Bristol Live chief sports reporter John Evely pulls the key points out of the game.
Can Bristol play expansive rugby and still defend? Bears and head coach Pat Lam are sticking to their high-risk style of attacking rugby, it takes real guts to continue with it when results haven’t always gone their way. But Bristol officially have the leakiest defence in the league, having conceded 481 points and 62 tries - the joint-most along with Leicester Tigers who sit one place below them in the table, in ninth and 10th respectively. While the style of play is inevitably going to lead to conceding a few tries, there is no excuse for letting in so many.
The Bears will never have a better chance to win. A two-point defeat is hard to take, but it is particularly tough when the Bears had so many clear chances to win it.
Just before half-time Luke Daniels missed a penalty from near the halfway line and then with five minutes left to play, with Worcester down to 14 men, the Warriors strayed offside on halfway and Ian Madigan lined up a kick to win it but he pushed it wide. Madigan is “a world class goal kicker” as Lam said after the match, but a kick from that distance is always a risk, and perhaps going for the corner was the higher percentage play. Who knows?
Game management. Bears have the skillset and the physical prowess to compete with any side in the league but are a little way off the best sides when it comes to in-game management. The Bears had an extra man for 20 minutes on Saturday, with Worcester’s Niall Annett first in the bin in the fifth minute and then Ben Te’o yellow carded 11 minutes from time. General wisdom suggests a side should score between seven to 10 points during a 10-min- ute sinning binning. During that time the Bears finished seven points worse off,
However, it is some achievement for Bristol to go toe-to-toe with Premiership sides with a backline of players who were all in the Championship last season, albeit it alongside Siale Piutau, Luke Morahan and Callum Sheedy. But Harry Randall was at Hartpury, Tom Pincus at Jersey Reds and Luke Daniels and Piers O’Conor at Ealing Trailfinders. Proof, that with hard work, chances are there for players beyond the top tier of the domestic game.