Bristol’s great expectations
BRISTOL V SARACENS 4.30PM, BT SPORT
KYLE SINCKLER and Semi Radradra have Bristol not so much dreaming of glory as expecting it.
The Bears resume their Premiership title challenge today in third, bolstered by the summer arrival of two stellar signings.
Team boss Pat Lam said: “We have expectations of ourselves, first and foremost, to be excellent; to produce high performance, to be world class.”
They were in decent enough shape before the twin additions of England prop Sinckler and Fijian maestro Radradra, each set for their debuts against Saracens at Ashton Gate.
But now they are ready to explode towards the finish line, with joint-top Premiership try scorer Luke Morahan warning: “Expect to see things you’ve never seen before from Semi, because that’s what he’ll bring.
“Even for us, we’re standing next to him just waiting to see what’s going to happen. His offload ability is second to none, he’s like an absolute torpedo into the line.”
Radradra and Sinckler appealed to Lam as “their ambition matches ours – they’ve got big goals they want to achieve”.
Lam went on: “Kyle fits nicely into our group because he has a real clear idea of where he can be, unbelievable self-awareness of where he’s at and what he needs to do.
“But he hasn’t come in and said, ‘Well, I’m Kyle Sinckler’. His approach has been class. He has a mentality of wanting to earn the respect of those around him.”
With nine rounds to negotiate and Bristol playing the top two, Exeter and Sale, in the space of four days this month, there is little room for error.
But Lam has no fears for his star-studded team being weighed down by outside pressure.
“The expectation people have for us is no different to what we have for ourselves,” he said. “Certainly with Semi, all eyes around the world will be looking at him.
“That’s one of the reasons we brought him in, for the Bristol team and also for the Gallagher Premiership. The Premiership is the best and toughest competition and you need to back that up with some world-class players.
“However, while I’m talking him up and don’t want to put too much pressure on him, he can handle it.”
Strict anti-Covid measures mean players are barred from hugging and celebrating tries within two metres of each other.
That suits Lam, who added: “I come from old school, when you scored a try you got back – no celebrating. You only celebrated if you won. This brings it purely back to focusing on your game.”