By Ben Thorne
Bristol Bears director of rugby, Pat Lam, believes that a better home performance against Northampton Saints will see his side break their losing streak at Ashton Gate. The Bears sit fourth in the Premiership after three away victories against Newcastle Falcons, Bath and Exeter Chiefs but are yet to get off the mark on their own patch.
After narrow defeats at home to Saracens and Gloucester, both including scores late in the game, Bristol will be hoping to bounce back on Friday.
Lam said: “we are determined to be better than we have been to ensure that we get that win at home for us and for our supporters.
“We probably could be sitting at the top of the table with 25 points, but we’re not and that is due to the fine margins that led to us losing those games.”
Their opponents, Northampton, come into the game off the back of a monster 47-17 victory against Sale Sharks at Franklin’s Gardens.
The result meant that the Saints have not lost at home in over a year, after the Bears beat them 33-27 in October 2023, emphasising the fortress they are building in the East Midlands.
Looking ahead to the challenge that the Saints provide, Lam said: “they had an unbelievable year last year and they are a very well coached side as we can see from what they did to Sale last week.
“But the important thing for us is that we understand who they are and what they are going to bring but we are desperate to beat them and to get that win at home.”
Steve Borthwick announced his England squad for the upcoming Autumn internationals early last week and those selected are unavailable for games this weekend.
It seems Northampton were more heavily affected by this, losing five key players including Fin Smith, George Furbank and Tommy Freeman while the Bears only had two selected in Harry Randall and Ellis Genge.
When considering whether it was advantageous for his side, the Bristol boss shared the large number of high quality players within the Bears squad who are currently unavailable due to injury.
“Max Malins, Siva Naulago, Noah Heward, Jimmy Williams, Bill Mata, it is not just about those who are selected for international squads that affect availability.
“That is why I would’ve been so pleased last week if we had pulled off the win because we had so many first choice players unavailable.”
Josh Caulfield is another player on the injury list, as the lock left the field inside 10 minutes last weekend with a pectoral injury.
Lam said: “we think Caulfield will be out for about three months, so our second row has certainly taken a hit with Steele Barker, George Taylor and now Caulfield out with long term injuries.
“In terms of replacement, our recruitment team is looking into it, but we have coverage there at the moment with James Dun and Joe Batley but the two of them have put in a lot of work so far.
“Mata will be back soon and Steven Luatua has played in the row before but it could become a problem, so it is something that we are looking into.”
On a more positive note, there are a number of world class players returning from injury this week as Luatua, Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Kalaveti Ravouvou are all available for selection.
After the Northampton game, Bristol will go into a block of Premiership Cup games allowing a number of players who have been heavily involved in the early stages of the season to have a rest.
The Bears also take on Australia in a friendly at Ashton Gate on Friday, November 8.
Lam said: “those guys that have put in a lot of work will get a break before coming back into consideration ahead of that Australia game but it is a great opportunity for some other players to get some game time.
“That said, our focus is on this week, it is a huge game for us to finish off this block and we really want to win.”
Bristol Bears vs Northampton Saints will kick off on Friday, October 25 at 7:45.
