By Ben Thorne
Pat Lam is adamant that his Bristol Bears team has what it takes to win at Sandy Park this weekend against Exeter Chiefs. The Bears come into the game off the back of a phenomenal derby victory over Bath, running out 26-36 winners at the Rec, climbing to second in the table.
Meanwhile their Devonian opponents’ fortunes have been significantly worse this season, as they are still looking for their first victory and as a result sit in ninth. Looking ahead to the tie, Lam said: “We know Exeter will be desperate for a win, and that makes them even more dangerous. If we bring our best version and play as a team, we’ll give ourselves a real chance.”
Exeter Chiefs have won the last four meetings between the two sides, a trend which the Bristol Bears Director of Rugby is keen to change. In fact, Bristol have not won at Sandy Park since January 2021, when a second half Semi Radradra try took the spoils for the Bears.
Lam said: “When you have built up two years of losing to them, it makes it exciting for us to be able to chase them, it is no surprise that they will be coming at us but we are looking forward to that challenge.”
“Exeter are a very proud team and Rob [Baxter] has done an amazing job there, but they have never started a season in the way that they have this year, which tells us that they will be fully loaded, going all out for the win.”
The Bears will be looking to gain some momentum at the start of this season in a similar way to how they did at the end of last year. However, they will be hindered by numerous players being added to an ever growing injury list after the Bath game.
Max Malins and Jimmy Williams, both of whom provide cover to the fly half shirt, will be unavailable for at least the next eight weeks through injury, they join Siva Naulago, Kalaveti Ravouvou and Noah Heward as notable absentees in the Bristol backline.
Lam and his team have resigned USA international Toby Fricker on a short term deal as injury cover in the back three. The Bears boss said: “Its really good to have Toby [Fricker] back, as he is someone that brings a lot of experience to the group.
“He is capped now and played really well against Samoa so it is really good to have someone who knows us and our system.”
Lam also expressed confidence in his ability for academy products to be used more in the senior team this season, after making the decision to decrease the size of the squad squad during the summer break.
With the rapidly decreasing cover at fly half in mind, Lam said: “Sam Worsley is back available for selection now, which is timely in the sense that we are going to have a look at him.
“But we are keen to use academy players, obviously Joe Jenkins has stepped up a number of times already this season and there’s plenty of other young players that, because of our smaller squad, are not far away from the first team.
“Jack Bates, Deago Bailey and Harry Rowson are just three of the local boys that have been getting a lot of reps in training, so we are excited to see how they develop.”
Reflecting on the past two West Country derbies and looking ahead to the test of Exeter, Lam praised the work of his leadership group for building the emotional investment of the squad before important games.
He said: “I have been really impressed with these guys, they have a lot of experience and a lot of different personalities, I see myself as a facilitator for the program and the structure that we play but as gameday approaches the leadership group drive us forward.
“It was certainly a lot easier last week against Bath but they took the lead for a particular area of reflection after the Gloucester game particularly, because they did not get it quite right.
“They are always keen to take the lead because they are the ones that are out on the field so are the ones who feel the pain when they lose.
“I am very impressed watching these guys grow the team.”
Bristol Bears will kick off away at Sandy Park against Exeter Chiefs on Saturday, October 12 (3pm kick off).
