Bears ace Randall aims to show Eddie he’s
BRISTOL scrum-half Harry Randall heads to gusty Galway today aiming to prove he can control a game in any conditions, come what may.
Randall is a fast-track dervish full of attacking intent, but as an England prospect still has to convince Eddie Jones he is a man for all seasons.
Connacht – beaten 26-22 by Racing 92 last Sunday – is no place for the fainthearted and if Pat Lam’s side are to reignite their Champions Cup hopes following last week’s thrilling home defeat to Clermont, there is no better setting for Randall to make a statement.
Randall told The Rugby Paper: “We talk a lot about controlling the game as a team and certain individuals, like your No.9 and 10, have a job to do there. Over the past few years a big part of my work-ons has been learning to control games better than I have before.
“A lot depends on the weather against Connacht and they often get gale force winds and rain. It means potentially the game might not be full of the flowing rugby we’re used to, but we’ve got to adapt and play it to our needs.
“It’s a great opportunity to show I’ve been working on that and that I can control a game in different conditions. It involves the whole team as well, but the
half-backs have a big role to play and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Victory is non-negotiable if Bristol are to make the quarter-finals and Randall acknowledges his side must make a better start than they did against Clermont, who shot out of the blocks early before racing to an eventual 51-38 win.
Randall said: “It was probably an enjoyable game to watch with two attacking teams going at it, but we made a lot of mistakes. Allowing a team like Clermont to score 21 points in the first 16 minutes is a killer.
“Clermont came out firing and while we showed glimpses and at one stage got back into the game at seven or eight points down, you’re always chasing the game and they’ve been in the Champions Cup for years, so they dealt with it.
“We allowed them to get on the front foot but I didn’t think it wasn’t anything we couldn’t solve and we’re looking forward to giving it a good crack against Connacht and trying to get a five-point win.”
While the Challenge Cup offers a fall back for sides finishing 5th to 8th in each of the 12-team pools, Randall adds: “There’s not much margin for error now but we got a try-bonus point against Clermont which gives us some hope.
“We’ve got to win our next three matches now. We’ve fought hard over three years to get into the Champions Cup and want to reach the knock-out stage.”