JWSport Jacek Waszak – Sport journalist
Bristol Bears host Newcastle Falcons at Ashton Gate on Sunday in the 11th round of the 2024/25 Gallagher Premiership, with the West Country team looking to secure second place in the table before the two-month league break during the Six Nations.
The Bears enter the match after a heavy 33-26 away defeat to Clermont Auvergne on Sunday, looking to drop out of Europe completely and increase the importance of the Premiership for Pat Lam and his team this season. Newcastle, which is at the bottom of the table, had as difficult a time in the Challenge Cup as it did in the league, losing 26-7 at home to Montpellier last Friday.
Bristol Bears scored a touchdown to storm to a bonus point win over Newcastle Falcons at a rain-soaked Ashton Gate and solidify their position in the Gallagher Premiership play-offs.
The Bristol Bears unexpectedly took an easy 21:0 lead, before attempted touchdowns and points as Callum Chick and Jamie Blamire made the Falcons competitive.
The Bristol Bears unexpectedly took an easy 21:0 lead, before attempted touchdowns and points as Callum Chick and Jamie Blamire made the Falcons competitive.
Kalaveti Ravouvou’s second touchdown for Bristol seemed to give the hosts the lead again, but Max Clark and Ben Stevenson narrowed the gap to just three points.
Newcastle’s struggles continue as they try to regain their composure and build on their performance against Bristol. The Falcons are currently at the bottom of the table, but can take encouragement from their improved performance compared to last season. Diamond is looking for talent to strengthen the team, saying: “We may be recruiting for this season by then, so we will be tough to beat.”
Looking ahead, the Bears see the coming weeks as a mini-season to refine their strengths and address weaknesses heading into the final stages of the season. They have shown remarkable depth in exploring the potential of their squad, paving the way for promising performances as the season progresses.
With the win, Bristol remain six points behind league leaders Bath, while Newcastle remain at the bottom,
BRISTOL BEARS – NEWCASTLE FALCONS 55 – 35
Bristol Bears: 15 Rich Lane, 14 Noah Heward, 13 Joe Jenkins, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 10 Harry Byrne (Benjamin Elizalde, 71), 9 Kieran Marmion (Sam Wolstenholme, 73); 1 Yann Thomas (Jake Woolmore, 51), 2 Gabriel Oghre, 3 Max Lahiff (George Kloska, 45), 4 James Dun (Steven Luatua, 31), 5 Joe Owen, 6 Santiago Grondona (Jake Heenan, 71), 7 Fitz Harding (captain), 8 Viliame Mata.
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo (Oli Spencer, 53), 14 Max Pepper, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Max Clark, 11 Ben Stevenson, 10 Brett Connon (Kieran Wilkinson, 74), 9 Sam Stuart (Joe Davis, 73); 1 Adam Brocklebank (Micky Rewcastle, 73), 2 Jamie Blamire (Ollie Fletcher,74), 3 Murray McCallum (Luan de Bruin, 53), 4 Sebastian de Chaves, 5 Kiran McDonald, 6 Philip van der Walt, 7 Freddie Lockwood, 8 Callum Chick (captain).
