By Ben Thorne
After last week’s narrow West Country derby defeat against Gloucester, Bristol look to bounce back with a challenging trip to Bath. The Bears have not won at the Rec since 2021, losing by just a point last season after a late Finn Russell penalty took the spoils.
“As soon as you see the derby on the calendar, you know that the week is going to be different” said Bristol Bears Director of Rugby, Pat Lam.
Meanwhile, their opponents come into the game unbeaten this term after wins over Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints.
“The rivalry between Bath and Bristol was made very clear to me from day one when I came here and it’s a game that we have taken a lot of pride from over the years. We have played them 12 times since being back in the Premiership and we have certainly done very well in those games.
“But this will be the biggest challenge because of where they are as a club at the moment and the quality that they have as a group; but that makes it exciting for us, the fact that we will 100% be the underdogs.”
Lam pointed out the strength in depth that Bath have within their squad this season, with multiple experienced internationals per position.
One player that will be back from injury and available for the Blue, Black and Reds is Sam Underhill, who is a player that demonstrates Bath’s experience, having played for England on 39 occasions.
Lam said: “I think Johann [Van Graan] has done a great job, making Bath most people’s prediction to win the competition this year and I think that’s down to the quality and depth that they have.
“You look at their back row in particular where a crucial player could get injured but then the next international comes in, however the biggest thing for us is focusing on us and controlling what we can control, rather than looking at who could play for them.”
It seems that depth could become a problem for Bristol themselves this season with a number of crucial positions lacking quality backup.
After Callum Sheedy’s departure from the West Country club, AJ MacGinty became the Bears clear first choice fly-half but the next in line seemed to be academy graduate Sam Worsley, who is yet to feature in the Premiership.
Lam said: “While AJ [MacGinty] was away with America during preseason and after Worsley had picked up a niggle, Max Malins ran lots at fly-half where he performed really well.
“In the Harlequins game last season, when we lost Sheedy after around 20 minutes, Max [Malins] jumped in and ran the show because we play the game in a way so that the 10 receives lots of simple information about our shape which makes it a lot easier for them.
“If you can get someone dangerous like Malins or MacGinty in that shirt it certainly helps them.”
Lam will hope for Bristol to get back to winning ways on Saturday, as his side kick off against Bath at the Rec at 15:05.