Ep 204 - Bristol have a bad bear day near Barnet...

Bears Beyond The Gate

The five key takeaways from the pod this week after a few cheeky beers and bit of rugby banter…

1. Bears suffered an "absolute shellacking," losing 50-17 after falling 31-0 down by halftime, though the lads accept that Saracens' performance was "outstanding" and they probably would have beaten any team in the league it was that good.

2. The Bears just couldn’t convert any of pressure that they did create struggling with red zone efficiency and only scoring only 17 points from 12 entries into the 22 despite having 62% possession and 57% territory overall. Was it case of Sarries been too good or Bears making too many mistakes? As always, it was probably a ‘bit of both’ erring on the side of Sarries being too good.

3. The defeat highlighted the risk of starting the season with the smallest squad in the premiership, and this has unfortunately been exposed by an unprecedented number of early-season injuries to key players in key positions. The medical boys have definitely got their work cut out.

4. A massive positive, however, was the team's second-half resilience exemplified by Kieran Marmion’s standout performance. He was the best Bears player on the pitch and scored a quality hat-trick.

5. We need a "bounce back" performance against Exeter Chiefs, with the lads highlighting the return of key personnel, including Fitz Harding and Ellis Genge, Santi Grindona, Pedro Rubiolio and Benjamin Elizadlde to reinforce the squad.

Let us know what you think!