Bristol Bears head into the final pool stage game of the 2022/23 Challenge Cup in need of a favour from their Premiership rivals Bath or Newcastle if the club is to secure a home tie in the last 16 knockout rounds.
The Bears, who have still qualified out of the pool stages, were looking on track to secure a home tie in the next round having won their first three games in Europe, but yesterday news broke that the club have been docked five match points due to breaking the rules around the eligibility of forward Elliott Stooke.
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Stooke, who was made redundant by Wasps when the Premiership side went into administration earlier this season, was picked up by the Bears after a stint playing for the Barbarians, as injury cover for Joe Joyce. His signing was announced on December 2.
He was successfully and correctly registered with tournament organisers EPCR as an Additional Player for Europe and made two appearances off the replacements bench for the Bears before Christmas, featuring for 14 minutes in the 19-5 win away in Perpignan and 27 minutes in the 35-19 home victory over Zebre.
In December Stooke was approached with an offer from Montpellier to sign for the club as a medical joker and took advantage of an early release clause in his contract which according to the EPCR disciplinary hearing ‘all relevant members of Bristol Bears’ staff were not aware of.
He was told that if his body held up for the rest of the season, having only recently returned from surgery on his ankle and lower leg following multiple serious breaks, then a two-year contract will be on the table at the French Top 14 side.
On January 4, Montpellier announced Stooke’s signing and subsequently registered him as part of their European squad.
The problem is EPCR rules state Additional Players must be contracted to a club for a minimum period of three months, so while Stooke was not ineligible at the time he played for the Bears, he became so having left the club early.
The EPCR disciplinary hearing accepted the rule breaking was down to ‘an honest clerical’ mistake, but the incident will deliver a prang of pain to Bristol’s management as only last season the club’s recruitment plans were complicated by another administrative error over contract renewal deadlines that were missed.
As well as a five-point deduction the Bears were handed a €10,000 suspended fine which will only be payable if further rules are broken before the end of the 2023/24 season.
But that is not the actual cost, the real cost to the Bears is likely to be in the region of £400,000 as Bristol now look likely to miss out on hosting a big additional home game which is not included in the season ticket so would have provided the club with a useful payday.
A high ranking in the pool stages of the Challenge Cup would also have delivered potential home games in the quarter-finals and semi-finals had the Bears advanced that far.
All hope is not lost, but the math is not on Bristol’s side.
The top four sides in each pool get a home quarter-final in the last 16 knockout rounds in April, Bristol currently sit in fifth with six teams advancing from Pool A in total.
To move into the top four Bristol, on nine match points, must beat Perpignan with an attacking bonus point at home on Friday night and hope either third place Connacht or fourth place Glasgow Warriors get zero match points from their games.
Glasgow, on 14 points, play winless Bath at home on Friday at the same time as the Bears game (8pm ko) while Connacht, also on 14 points, are away at Newcastle Falcons on Saturday evening (5.30pm). Both Bath are Newcastle could still claim the final qualifying spot from the pool with a victory so have motivation to play.
When teams are level on points the next deciding factor is points aggregate with Bristol holding an advantage over the Warriors but not Connacht, meaning the Bears will likely be looking to not only win against their French opposition on Friday, but win by a significant margin.
There will certainly be eyes on Scotstoun and Kingston Park this weekend as well as Ashton Gate.
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