After the nerve shredding anti-thrills of the visit to the Stoop, a long journey to Newcastle actually felt like a good thing. I mean, the Falcons aren’t a bad side, but it was hard to believe that they would rip the Bears to shreds in the same way Quins did and the thought of arm wrestling with some knarly northerners probably felt like a blessed relief for those who had experienced the shellacking in southwest London. As a lesser of two evils, the fixture at Kingston Park felt akin to jumping in an ice bath after the misery of running a marathon in the same way that that a bit of short, sharp self-flagellation quickly erases painful memories.
Mind you, with nine changes to the line up and even more youth making up the spare bears you did wonder whether there were as many psychological injuries as physical ones back at the HPC and of course, I imagine that Charles Piutau has it written in his contract that he can only play on proper pitches.
As a result, the expectations of getting any sort of result receded even further but ultimately, when it came down to it, we yet again ended up disappointed at getting nothing from the game. After doing quite well to weather a tight and forgettable first half that was more grunt than shunt, the Bears perked up in the second and gave the travelling faithful something to cheer about before falling in their swords in a way that has become all too familiar so far this season.
It’s not only the hope that is a fan killer but also the turnovers, the penalties and the inability to exert sustained pressure. The turning point in the game was probably when a bit of chirp from Harry Randall gave the Falcons at shot at goal after Ioan Lloyd was penalised for holding on and the ref marched the ball ten yards into kicking range. Not only did it gift the Falcons a chance to extend their lead but it also said much to them about Bristol’s fragile psyche, the weakness of which the hosts were able to exploit and ultimately use to see out the rest of the game with relative ease, cantering home in a manner that was really nothing much more than workmanlike. To use a racing analogy the Falcons were more like a doughty stayer than a champion chaser. Mind you, what they currently makes Bristol Bears is up for debate. A proven thoroughbred who has developed a temporary inability to go both course and distance perhaps?
Having listened to the way that the second half unfolded on the radio my initial rection on the final whistle was to lock myself in a darkened room and kick myself repeatedly in the nuts such was the frustration of the both the performance and the way in which I had been forced to experience it. However, I soon realised that this wasn’t helpful on many levels and decided to see what meaning I could glean from the various interviews after the game.
A somewhat resigned looking post-match Pat growled that individual errors had cost them the game and the fact that he had hauled Callum Sheedy off early in the second half after two missed kicks to touch and a comical knock on after trying a quick tap penalty meant you kind of knew who he was talking about. That said, the decision seemed a bit harsh as Sheedo hadn’t played that badly despite these errors and when Lloyd missed both a conversion and an easy penalty that would have given us a 10-7 lead going into the last quarter, you felt that despite his misdemeanors it would have been preferable to have kept the first-choice kicker on the pitch for the duration.
It was also interesting that he referred to ‘reflections’ rather than ‘learnings’, no doubt recognising that there needs to be as much a change up in the debriefing lexicon as the on-pitch game plan and will no doubt use some of his time off to have a glance at a thesaurus as well as the current playbook.
That said, I was more buoyed by Joe Joyce’s comments and although the Bears currently seem to be having more bad days at the Office than when David Brent had to start working for Neil from the Swindon branch, he did instill some confidence in me to believe that that unlike the hapless paper merchant the team will turn things around by being honest about their weaknesses, taking time in the bye week to reflect on their poor start and working hard to come back stronger for the next block. When Joycey said ‘we will come good’ my instinct was to believe him.
It also reminded me that it’s on all of us to keep the faith and not fall into the easy narrative of trying the throw out the baby with the bathwater. Clearly things are not clicking at the moment and maybe it is as much system as player error but let’s not forget the first half at Quins where we were all reminded of what we can do, and Apalati’s try against the Falcons also gave us a glimpse of what the plan is all about. We may be flopping about in the Doldrums just now with too many limp and flaccid jibs but it will only take a hint of a breeze to get us moving again and with what might be now considered two potentially winnable games then I do expect us to get some more wind in our sails.
Clearly it is a case of resetting expectations, taking each game as it comes and looking forward to a second half of the season where we will undoubtedly be stronger as big players return. One thing that we can be sure of is that we won’t get relegated so if that means we have to take some hits so that less heralded members fo the squad get valuable game time then so be it. The Bears’ project is a long term one and if that means some inevitable short-term pain then we all must take that on the chin and remember that rough or smooth the club has got stability that was only dreamed of ten years ago. Oh, and we’re above Bath.
Filthy Rig 