Bears hope overseas trio will turn the tide
BRISTOL will use the pain of last weekend’s defeat at Saracens as they look to move up the Premiership table and challenge for a play-off place.
The Bears remain bottom after Francois Hougaard’s try two minutes over the 80 at the StoneX Stadium condemned them to a fifth successive defeat away to Sarries after Jack Bates’s last-minute try at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last season was ruled out for a forward pass.
It was a meeting between top and bottom and, while both sides were missing players who were away with England or injured, it was another match which showed how the salary cap has narrowed the gap in the top flight.
“The way the game finished was devastating,” said Mark Irish, Bristol’s forwards coach. “We all felt the pain after the final whistle and again on Monday when we reviewed the match.
“We drew a line under it but we learned a lot after some great reviews in team meetings and in mini units. We are not far away, but the wins will not happen unless we work hard.”
Bristol would have moved above Bath had they held on having led for most of the match, but they are only 11 points behind Northampton, who are fourth, and they have a game in hand.
Three of their next four fixtures are at Ashton Gate, starting with Newcastle on Friday night, and the other encounter is with Bath at the Recreation Ground.
“Fourth place is not out of reach,” said Irish. “All the games we have coming up are winnable and if we can reproduce what we showed in the first 73 minutes at Saracens, we will put ourselves in a good position.
“The Premiership is a competition in which anyone can beat anyone on the day. We have seen that in results throughout the season. It is a tough tournament and you have to have the right mindset every week.
“We lost at Saracens but we can take confidence from the performance. They had not lost there for more than a year and we had the opportunity to take that record.
“It is a game of small margins and we were punished at the end. Our job as coaches now is working out how to stress the players in training and get the mindset right in the final months of the campaign.”
Fiji centre Semi Radradra produced a notable performance at Saracens, denied a try after a knock-on in the build-up was confirmed on review. He was a handful throughout and by the time Newcastle visit Ashton Gate, full-back Charles Piutau should be in contention.
Piutau is fit, Bristol would have the rare opportunity of starting the three of their big name overseas outside backs in the same side with Radradra and Siva Naulago involved in their last three matches. The last time the trio were named in the same side was at the beginning of 2021 when the Bears defeated Exeter 20-7 at Sandy Park.
Bristol will lose either Piutau or Radradra at the end of the season because clubs are only able to have one marquee player under the salary cap regulations, but England wing Max Malins will be arriving from Saracens in the summer.
“I am really enjoying being back at the club,” said Irish, who was on Bristol’s coaching staff for five seasons before leaving for Worcester for family reasons.
“There are some familiar faces but I have also had the chance to work with Ellis Genge in a senior capacity for the first time. There is great competition for places here and that will create a winning environment.”