When the team for Wasps was announced most fans must have thought that Pat Lam had been holed up in a casino given the extent to which he had rolled the dice on team selection.
Fuelled by a disappointing brace of defeats and yet more injuries on the plastic pitch at Sixways Stadium, his gamble on a series of new combinations, particularly in the backline, looked more like a strategy for the Craps table rather than for a try bonus point win against a visiting team on the up and back to full strength.
If social media is to be believed then most fans’ realistic expectations, including mine, were a losing bonus point at best and another disjointed, sloppy and frustrating performance at worst.
But what a difference a week makes. If I had been wearing my Bears bobble hat, I would have been forced to eat it! The team was focused and clinical from the start with the more experienced pack providing a solid platform for the more inexperienced backline to express themselves.
Everyone played with a clarity that led to very few unforced errors and even though Wasps launched an inevitable comeback, it was such a relief to see the Bears manage the second half so much better than they had done in the previous two games. Ashton Gate was rocking and the ‘Blackbird’ was heard again as the players toasted their victory.
Whilst huge credit goes to the pack, it was a delight to see the lesser lights of Theo Strang, Tiff Eden, Antoine Frisch and Niyi Adeolokun make the most of the opportunity that they had been given and the fact that Tiff kept an international player on the bench just shows how well he played.
His kicking off the tee and out of hand was exemplary, and his break and offload to Frisch for the second try was sublime. With his youthful looks and tied back hair he commanded the turf with commendable authority. In fact, his performance was simply top ‘knotch’.
However, the team now must back this up with more consistency and where better than at the Rec on Saturday? With Bath also getting a rare win at the weekend the scene is set for a tasty encounter from which we hope the Bears will feast. C’mon Bris!
You can listen to this week’s Bears Beyond the Gate podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Spotify and Buzzsprout
