Trying to catch lightning in a cider bottle would be only slightly harder right now than containing Bristol’s dazzling attacking game. The Bears have been averaging 50 points per match in winning five successive league fixtures and, going into Saturday’s crucial visit to Leicester, are playing with a freedom and momentum few of their playoff-chasing rivals can match.
Setting the pace has been their pocket dynamo Harry Randall, who guides his team around the field at such a whirring tempo they are blowing opponents away. Last week they put 85 points on a hapless Newcastle and when Randall last played at Welford Road a couple of months ago he starred in England A’s 91-5 win over Portugal, underlining his credentials as a classy catalyst who could add a further spark to the senior England team.
There are just two things that might slow him down over the domestic season’s closing weeks and their names are Lyla and Noa. Randall and his partner, Kelsey, are the proud parents of seven-week-old twin girls and the scrum-half’s trademark energy is currently being tested. “The days of sitting on the sofa and watching sport for the rest of the afternoon have very much disappeared,” he says, wryly. “I still get to watch a bit but you’re occupied by other things like feeding and changing nappies.”
If Bristol do maintain their upward trajectory and win the Gallagher Premiership it could yet be that Kelsey qualifies for a medal of her own, having selflessly allowed Harry to have some extra sleep when he needs it. “We’ve tried to come up with a bit of a plan because I need to get a good block of sleep in before big training days and games. The day before games she allows me to go into the spare room. I’ll do a little feed before bed and then I’ll go in there and tuck up.”
So far it has paid off handsomely. Randall is the “zip zip” man who exploits any gaps left by tiring opposing defenders and his Energizer Bunny routine helps to bring out the best in those around him. Fingertip passing, deft offloads, myriad support runners; Pat Lam’s side kicked the ball away just four times in the whole Newcastle game.
It is the thrilling product of a collective midwinter realisation that a previously underwhelming campaign needed rescuing. “We made a decision halfway through the season that we all needed to buy into the way we’re going to play and really get after it,” says Randall. “There’s a few things we really focus on. One is our mindset and saying: ‘Right, we’re going to go after teams and have a real crack at them.’ The second is honing our skills. If we’re going to play a certain brand of rugby our skills need to be up to the test. It puts a lot of responsibility on the individual to knuckle down and nail what you need to do.”
It also happens to suit Randall’s game perfectly. When he last started for England, in the 2022 Six Nations, there was not the same licence to attack that has latterly emerged but he senses rugby may be coming back around to his way of thinking. “Over the past few years the kicking game has been the way to play rugby. South Africa have won two World Cups doing it and you can’t knock it. But I think teams are now trying to be a bit more attacking. I think it’s important for the future of the game. It’s all about spectators and you want to get bums on seats. You want people to be excited and to draw in the crowds.”
If the fourth-placed Bears can keep it going – “We’ve managed to get ourselves into a good spot” – it will also enhance Randall’s chances of touring with England this summer. Having grown up in the Amman Valley he represented Welsh age-group sides but his parents are English and his desire to play Test rugby remains as strong as ever.
“I look at players like Antoine Dupont and Aaron Smith and I strive to be as good as them. I’m still only 26 … I’ve got plenty of years left in me. I want to play for England as many times as possible. There’s only so much I can control but the better I prepare and perform for Bristol week in, week out will give me the best opportunity to be selected.”
A sobering reminder of just how suddenly lives can change arrived this week following the stabbing incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, the same school where he was once a student. “When I found out I rang my mum because they live only 10 minutes away. Of all the places it could have happened you wouldn’t have thought it would have been in that area. It’s very sad.”
This weekend, though, his primary focus – some quality sleep aside – is on keeping Bristol buzzing. “A lot of it is down to momentum and, fortunately, we’re in a good spot. Things aren’t always going to go right but we’re riding the wave really well.” Allow Randall the twin luxuries of time and space and the Tigers will be toast.
