Pat Lam's side are bidding to make it back into the play-offs
The Bears have gone back to their traditional Bristol stripes for this season’s kit, but will they revert back to winning ways at Ashton Gate too? Here’s our Bristol Bears Gallagher Premiership preview…
Discussion points
Related: Bath Rugby Gallagher Premiership preview 2024-25
Bristol turned the clock back last season, demolishing the likes of Quins, Saints and Newcastle with a brio reminiscent of their table-topping 2020-21 campaign.
Only a home defeat by Saracens in May cost them a play-off spot. The wheels of change grind on, however, and the departure of 17 players – including centurions Callum Sheedy, Piers O’Conor, Dan Thomas and Ed Holmes – has left the squad looking a little lean.
It’s the smallest squad that Pam Lam has had since he arrived in 2017 and has a more youthful, home-grown feel. Headline signing ‘Bill’ Mata will bring silky offloads and gain-line on both sides of the ball but has picked up a hamstring injury which will keep him out until November.
With Test tighthead Kyle Sinckler now in France, Lovejoy Chawatama is another key arrival. The club will hit the road for a home game in May, playing Bath at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in the new ‘Big Day Out’ initiative.
Key player
Benhard Janse van Rensburg scores against Newcastle, Bristol’s opening opponents (Getty Images)
Lam calls Benhard Janse van Rensburg a “coach’s dream” and the South African centre was hugely influential last season, his first at Ashton Gate after the demise of his old club London Irish. An immense carrier, his work ethic was shown by the way he chased a Falcons try-scorer all the way to the line despite Bears leading by 60 points at the time.
One to watch
It will be interesting to see if teenage wing Aidan Boshoff, who made his senior debut at 17 in the Premiership Cup, can make an impression. Abergavenny-born but raised in Cape Town, he has impressed for Wales U20.
Coaches’ box
A terse, two-line statement announced the exit of Dave Walder, who was apparently frustrated by a lack of coaching input. Sean Marsden has been promoted to backs coach and Dave Ellis, who worked with Lam at Connacht, joins as skills coach.
Prediction
A period of transition looks likely. The great entertainers look set to return to the lower reaches.
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