Dazzling display was a fitting finale for departing stars
TALK about a tonic when you are feeling thirsty for a pick-me-up! If the first home game of the season way back in September had been a frustrating affair when Bristol had tried to take Saracens on at their own game and lost, then the farewell Friday finale at the Gate saw the Bears roar back after a slow first quarter to remind everyone that inspiring a community through rugby means being true to your vision, executing with precision and delivering the right result. It was classic Bears. Fast, ambitious and most importantly of all, clinical, and when these three elements come together in harmony then even an experienced and fully loaded team with something to play for like the Chiefs will find themselves stumbling in the slipstream.
The plaudits will rightly go to the performance of the finishers, with Charles Piutau, Toby Fricker and Callum Sheedy all outstanding in their own different ways, but yet again it proved that unless you have a forward pack moving heaven and earth to provide a secure foundation through a solid set-piece, a competitive breakdown and a ferocious defence then it is always going to be difficult to deliver consistent performances. If you are baking a show-stopping cake then you must get the structure and consistency of the sponge just right before applying the fancy decoration. As such, it was arguably the Bears’ best home performance of the season, and if Paul Hollywood had been pitchside on the final whistle he would no doubt have offered Pat Lam the handshake.
But these occasions are also tinged with sadness as it is also time to say goodbye to players who are moving on. There isn’t enough space to mention them all but it was fitting that the Antipodean trio of John Afoa, Alapati Leuia and Nathan Hughes were given special mention as they have been integral to the Bears project. It hasn’t been the season that we hoped for but that just shows how Bristol fans now have levels of expectation that they could only have dreamed of ten years ago. That’s the beauty of sport and support. There’s always another campaign in the horizon, always another season to look forward to and always the chance of glory. Up the Bears!
You can listen to this week’s Bears Beyond the Gate on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Spotify and Buzzsprout.