MORE THAN ANYTHING, this Bristol team look like they’re having fun.
Pat Lam has backed the Bears to run the ball from everywhere and the joy his players are taking from that approach is evident and a little infectious.
Their 48-24 hammering of Harlequins in the Premiership last weekend was a case in point.
Bristol’s three first-half tries all came from deep in their own half, the first from a quickly-taken lineout on their five-metre line. Just after half time, they scored from a slick, well-drilled tap penalty on Quins’ five-metre line.
The fifth try started on the halfway line, a sweeping passage featuring some of their trademark crisp passing before their sixth and final five-pointer came from 45 metres out.
This is how Bristol roll. They’ve always been an ambitious attacking side under former Connacht boss Lam but they’ve now doubled down, challenging defences with every possession. They run the ball out of their 22 more than anyone.
Their handling skills are confident, their support play is relentless, and they work cleverly off the ball to give themselves overloads. English defences have struggled to get to grips, with Bristol notching a try-scoring bonus point in all seven of their games so far.
They’ve lost two matches but only by three points to Gloucester and two to Saracens.
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Bristol wing Gabriel Ibitoye is a big attacking threat. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
The potential joy of today’s Champions Cup opener against Leinster [KO 5.30pm, Premier Sports] is that Bristol come up against a team whose defence can be seen as essentially the opposite of what Lam’s men are trying to do.
Under Jacques Nienaber, Leinster bring ceaseless pressure. Their aggression, even when clearly numbers down, means attacking sides can make the kind of errors that lead to try concessions.
When Leinster get things wrong, it can look particularly concerning, but when they nail their defensive plan, the results can be spectacular. More and more, they’ve been nailing the plan.
Whether Nienaber can get everyone straight onto the same hymn sheet post-November Tests remains to be seen but this battle between the Leinster defence and Bristol’s attack should be enthralling.
Of course, Leinster attack coach Tyler Bleyendaal could argue that the Irish province’s efforts with ball in hand were worthy of more discussion this week. They’ve registered six try-scoring bonus points from their seven URC wins so far this season and Bleyendaal now benefits from Leinster adding another weapon to the squad in Jordie Barrett.
Barrett will debut off the bench this evening and it will be intriguing to see how Leinster use the versatile Kiwi.
With Hugo Keenan sidelined, Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber have managed to fit three of their four senior out-halves into the matchday 23 as Ciarán Frawley comes in at fullback, Sam Prendergast starts at 10, and Ross Byrne provides back-up from the bench.
This is just the latest big day for Prendergast, who will start a Champions Cup game for the first time. He has returned from Ireland’s November campaign with momentum and has a strong, experienced team around him.
There’s also a big chance for 22-year-old loosehead prop Jack Boyle, who will make his debut in this competition. The pecking order of Andrew Porter and Cian Healy as the top looseheads has been in place for a long time in Leinster and Ireland, so Boyle will relish the chance to challenge it.
Jack Boyle gets a big chance for Leinster. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
Even with key Ireland players Porter and captain Caelan Doris left on the bench, this Leinster team is formidable, while the replacements should offer serious impact given that two-time World Cup winner RG Snyman is also among them.
Bristol have fewer star names although they’re boosted by the returns of England internationals Ellis Genge and Harry Randall at loosehead and scrum-half, respectively, while wing Gabriel Ibitoye is in flying form with six tries in seven Premiership games.
South African centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg is playing great rugby, Bristol have a punchy back row, while Dublin native AJ MacGinty is an astute director of their play from the number 10 shirt.
You can sense Bristol’s excitement about welcoming Leinster to Ashton Gate this evening and they should be able to fire a few shots that hit the target but you still feel that Leinster will have enough quality to get their latest quest for glory off to a good start.
Leinster:
15. Ciarán Frawley
14. Jordan Larmour
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Robbie Henshaw
11. Jimmy O’Brien
10. Sam Prendergast
9. Jamison Gibson-Park
1. Jack Boyle
2. Rónan Kelleher
3. Rabah Slimani
4. Joe McCarthy
5. James Ryan
6. Max Deegan
7. Josh van der Flier
8. Jack Conan (captain)
Replacements:
16. Gus McCarthy
17. Andrew Porter
18. Thomas Clarkson
19. RG Snyman
20. Caelan Doris
21. Luke McGrath
22. Ross Byrne
23. Jordie Barrett
Bristol:
15. Rich Lane
14. Jack Bates
13. Benhard Janse van Rensburg
12. Kalaveti Ravouvou
11. Gabriel Ibitoye
10. AJ MacGinty
9. Harry Randall
1. Ellis Genge
2. Harry Thacker
3. Max Lahiff
4. James Dun
5. Joe Owen
6. Santiago Grondona
7. Fitz Harding (captain)
8. Bill Mata
Replacements:
16. Gabriel Oghre
17. Jake Woolmore
18. Lovejoy Chawatama
19. Steven Luatua
20. Benjamin Grondona
21. Kieran Marmion
22. Joe Jenkins
23. Benjamin Elizalde
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Leinster get latest tilt at glory going against Lam's thrilling Bristol
MORE THAN ANYTHING, this Bristol team look like they’re having fun.
Pat Lam has backed the Bears to run the ball from everywhere and the joy his players are taking from that approach is evident and a little infectious.
Their 48-24 hammering of Harlequins in the Premiership last weekend was a case in point.
Bristol’s three first-half tries all came from deep in their own half, the first from a quickly-taken lineout on their five-metre line. Just after half time, they scored from a slick, well-drilled tap penalty on Quins’ five-metre line.
The fifth try started on the halfway line, a sweeping passage featuring some of their trademark crisp passing before their sixth and final five-pointer came from 45 metres out.
This is how Bristol roll. They’ve always been an ambitious attacking side under former Connacht boss Lam but they’ve now doubled down, challenging defences with every possession. They run the ball out of their 22 more than anyone.
Their handling skills are confident, their support play is relentless, and they work cleverly off the ball to give themselves overloads. English defences have struggled to get to grips, with Bristol notching a try-scoring bonus point in all seven of their games so far.
They’ve lost two matches but only by three points to Gloucester and two to Saracens.
The potential joy of today’s Champions Cup opener against Leinster [KO 5.30pm, Premier Sports] is that Bristol come up against a team whose defence can be seen as essentially the opposite of what Lam’s men are trying to do.
Under Jacques Nienaber, Leinster bring ceaseless pressure. Their aggression, even when clearly numbers down, means attacking sides can make the kind of errors that lead to try concessions.
When Leinster get things wrong, it can look particularly concerning, but when they nail their defensive plan, the results can be spectacular. More and more, they’ve been nailing the plan.
Whether Nienaber can get everyone straight onto the same hymn sheet post-November Tests remains to be seen but this battle between the Leinster defence and Bristol’s attack should be enthralling.
Of course, Leinster attack coach Tyler Bleyendaal could argue that the Irish province’s efforts with ball in hand were worthy of more discussion this week. They’ve registered six try-scoring bonus points from their seven URC wins so far this season and Bleyendaal now benefits from Leinster adding another weapon to the squad in Jordie Barrett.
Barrett will debut off the bench this evening and it will be intriguing to see how Leinster use the versatile Kiwi.
With Hugo Keenan sidelined, Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber have managed to fit three of their four senior out-halves into the matchday 23 as Ciarán Frawley comes in at fullback, Sam Prendergast starts at 10, and Ross Byrne provides back-up from the bench.
This is just the latest big day for Prendergast, who will start a Champions Cup game for the first time. He has returned from Ireland’s November campaign with momentum and has a strong, experienced team around him.
There’s also a big chance for 22-year-old loosehead prop Jack Boyle, who will make his debut in this competition. The pecking order of Andrew Porter and Cian Healy as the top looseheads has been in place for a long time in Leinster and Ireland, so Boyle will relish the chance to challenge it.
Even with key Ireland players Porter and captain Caelan Doris left on the bench, this Leinster team is formidable, while the replacements should offer serious impact given that two-time World Cup winner RG Snyman is also among them.
Bristol have fewer star names although they’re boosted by the returns of England internationals Ellis Genge and Harry Randall at loosehead and scrum-half, respectively, while wing Gabriel Ibitoye is in flying form with six tries in seven Premiership games.
South African centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg is playing great rugby, Bristol have a punchy back row, while Dublin native AJ MacGinty is an astute director of their play from the number 10 shirt.
You can sense Bristol’s excitement about welcoming Leinster to Ashton Gate this evening and they should be able to fire a few shots that hit the target but you still feel that Leinster will have enough quality to get their latest quest for glory off to a good start.
Leinster:
15. Ciarán Frawley
14. Jordan Larmour
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Robbie Henshaw
11. Jimmy O’Brien
10. Sam Prendergast
9. Jamison Gibson-Park
1. Jack Boyle
2. Rónan Kelleher
3. Rabah Slimani
4. Joe McCarthy
5. James Ryan
6. Max Deegan
7. Josh van der Flier
8. Jack Conan (captain)
Replacements:
16. Gus McCarthy
17. Andrew Porter
18. Thomas Clarkson
19. RG Snyman
20. Caelan Doris
21. Luke McGrath
22. Ross Byrne
23. Jordie Barrett
Bristol:
15. Rich Lane
14. Jack Bates
13. Benhard Janse van Rensburg
12. Kalaveti Ravouvou
11. Gabriel Ibitoye
10. AJ MacGinty
9. Harry Randall
1. Ellis Genge
2. Harry Thacker
3. Max Lahiff
4. James Dun
5. Joe Owen
6. Santiago Grondona
7. Fitz Harding (captain)
8. Bill Mata
Replacements:
16. Gabriel Oghre
17. Jake Woolmore
18. Lovejoy Chawatama
19. Steven Luatua
20. Benjamin Grondona
21. Kieran Marmion
22. Joe Jenkins
23. Benjamin Elizalde
Referee: Pierre Brousset [France].
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Ashton Gate Bristol Champions Cup Leinster opener Preview