Another week, another climb up the steep slope to rugby redemption for the Bears and this time a pilgrimage to the Saints, a team also churning out young and exciting English players under the tutelage of a wily New Zealander. Boyd by a general uptick in form, desperate to re-establish their top four credentials and no doubt hungry to avenge the last gasp defeat at the Gate earlier in the season, there is little doubt that Northampton fancied upsetting Bristol’s somewhat substantial apple cart on the pristine turf of Franklin’s Gardens. With their closest challengers delivering bonus point victories dripping with tries the day before, the onus was on the mountain leaders to hike up the pressure and deliver accordingly.
Having spent a few weeks dealing with the threat of famine, Pat was now able to start feasting with his team selection. With Afoa, Byrne and Yann Thomas starting you felt that there was a front row that could not only push the piano but play it as well, and with Chris Vui moving back in with Joycey at lock you knew that that we would get a roar, if not a tune, out of the engine room. It also highlighted the extent to which the King of the ‘Mead has taken out a long-term mortgage on his position whilst delivering a high rate of interest back to the club every time he packs down. He really is the Lone Ranger of the squad – the only player that remains from the day he signed for the club – and no doubt fancies riding towards a bit more Silver-ware as the season progresses.
In the backs, the twin threat of Naulago and Adelokun was retained alongside Piers O’Conor who is now officially more regular than Planck’s constant in the way that he delivers electromagnetic action week in, week out, and with Henry Purdy, primed and pumped for action at full back after yet another position switch, there was a feeling of quiet and reserved confidence. That said, the only slight concern was perhaps again, Tiff at ten. Despite his good performance the week before, niggling doubts inevitably remained, and I’m sure that when he saw the Saints back row line up, he probably spent a couple of sleepless nights less counting sheep and more imagining the amount of traffic that would be coming down his channel like the Plimsoll swing bridge at rush hour. However, with Alapati given the job of close protection officer next to him, the hope was that he would quickly get to grips with the Leuia of the land and settle into his stride early on.
In other news, Dave Attwood was given a break to catch up on some of his law degree assignments and presumably the absence of Charles Piutau – who was last seen hovering up on cloud nine somewhere over Failand after his heroics against Wasps – was to allow him to make an orderly descent down to earth in time for challenges of the next couple of weeks.
What a game it turned out to be.
On the day when Line of Duty returned to primetime, Bristol delivered an equally compelling, yet nail biting bit of drama that like the nation’s favourite police procedural, involved a complex, twisting and at times, completely baffling narrative which only became clear right at the end, when Andy Uren sensationally dabbed down under the sticks with two minutes left on the clock. One of these days Bristol will do something revolutionary like score lots of points in the first half and then score lots more in the second. However, that would be boring and make post-match Pat too complacent, so instead the Bears decided to flirt with danger and do it the hard way.
For the first 20 minutes the ball seemed unable to decide which team it fancied most as it yo-yo-ed between them like a coy maiden fluttering her eyelashes. Saints dominated possession whist the Bears nailed the defence. However, it was Bristol who struck first, with Leuia serving a delicious inside pass on a platter to Purdy who went full piston under the posts. The try galvanised the Bears who quickly added a second after some red zone pressure, but irritatingly let the Saints back into the game with some loose work in their own 22 which ultimately led to a try in the corner. The fact that the origin of it had come from a Steve Luatua forward pass to Siva as he tried to run out of defence, momentarily left fans downgrading him from Captain Fantastic to simply Spiritual Leader, but to be fair 14-7 was probably a touch more than we deserved. As has been the way in recent games it appeared that it would yet again be the second half that would determine the outcome of the game, which was good news for BT Sport, its viewers and advertisers but bad for journalists trying to make sure they had copy to file on the final whistle.
For 25 minutes the second half was such a relative disaster for Bristol that you wondered whether Pat had been playing re-runs of the London Irish game in the changing room. Looking more like Chumps inept than Champions elect, Bristol lumbered around the park leaking penalties and coughing up possession with gay abandon, and when Furbank crossed the chalk after collecting a bouncing bomb from Tommy Freeman’s chip ahead, it looked like Saints were going to join this season’s exclusive club of Premiership Lambusters alongside Wasps and Sale, and consign the Bears to only their third defeat of the season. However, making a decision that was either an act of great charity, or one of gross dereliction of selectorial duty, Chris Boyd took off Grayson whilst he was in full flow and replaced him with Harry Mallinder who preceded to butcher an easy penalty that would have taken the Saints ten points clear and soon after kicked one dead. It was from that moment that you sensed a stirring in Bristol’s second half loins which eventually led to the most unlikely Brucie bonus since the final episode of Play your Cards Right.
Led by a rampant Will Capon, who took the charge to the Saints brigade by lighting the blue touch paper with his yellow scrum cap gleaming like a beacon of intent, the Bears clawed their way back into the game. As the the clock ran down, the Morahan try and Bedlow conversion gave them unlikely hope but who would have thought they would deliver such delirium to the watching fans by sensationally scoring straight from the restart? The way that Andy Uren hunted down the try line with the conviction of DC Steve Arnott investigating bent coppers was almost criminal in itself, but it was the one handed pick up, run and pass that initiated his breakaway that really cracked the case for the Bears. For those of you with some knowledge of BS3 boozers you will understand when I say that the last time I saw what sort of filth from a Fitz Harding was when I was face down on the carpet of a Bedminster Weatherspoons (copyright and thanks to Marcus Watts). The fact that yet another Academy kid had both the skillset and the composure to execute at the crucial moment also highlights how the current Bears’ success is less flash in the pan and more long term slow cooker. The subs on the sidelines went berserk, with Joycey jumping round like a Sumo wrestler who has just been given a golden nappy, and Adeolokun fist pumping like a turbo charged De Walt. The only slight disappointment was that John Afoa finally looked his age as he sat with a blanket over his legs, sipping a mug of broth and celebrating like an old timer who had just got a full house at his weekly Care Home bingo championships.
All told, it was a game that ebbed and flowed more than normal, and for a major part of it, the Saints were turning the screw, but it also demonstrated an ability and a desire deep within the current Bristol squad to win at all costs that has arguably never been seen on such a consistent basis in the club’s 133 year history. There was no doubt that for a lot of the game the Bears were more huff and puff than razzle dazzle but with the international boys back from camp and Semi Randrada on the cusp of a return the summit is in sight.
Performance wise, Nathan was as gladiatorial as ever but there are suspicions that he is carrying a touch of extra timber and at times looked a bit like one of those street cleaning lorries that sticks in one gear and only goes in one direction. Since his return he seems to have struggled to make the yards that he did pre injury, so perhaps he either needs a bit more of a run up to break the gain line or should look too offload earlier in the tackle. However, a loose game against Quins might be just what he needs and if he can get fast and furious who knows what will happen.
Siva continued his somewhat erratic development with a scrappy performance but you certainly can’t fault his enthusiasm to try and smash anything that moves in the opposition half, and whilst at times his rush defence is more akin to a North Korean ballistic missile that looks good but ultimately falls into no mans land, there is no doubt that whenever he gets on the ball his teammates stand to attention and the opposition look nervously over their shoulder toward the trenches.
Ultimately though, it was the system players that provided the solution this week with Capon, Harding, Bedlow and Morahan adding value to the players they replaced and if the squad can cash in on their inspiration then at the very least the showdown with Quins at the Gate will be be a mouthwatering prospect.
If you want to listen to more irreverent and sometimes insightful commentary on the game then click here for the latest edition of Bears Beyond the Gate, the only Bristol podcast made by fans, for fans.
Filthy Rig 