Matchday programme: Bristol Bears vs Harlequins - Play-Off Semi-Final

unmissable
An
BEAR COUNTRY
column
by Will Reid
lineup on BT Sport
So, there we have it.
The end of another Premiership regular
season and the Bears are sitting at the top.
If Carlsberg did Gallagher Premiership
campaigns…
Now, who could honestly say five years
ago that they were confident Bristol would
be finishing the 20/21 season - top of the
league in a position they had held since
round six?
As much as we all love the jaw dropping
moments from the likes of Semi, Charles,
Callum and, yes, even John Afoa, it’s been
the development of the squad that has
been so encouraging to me.
It’s been those disappointing games such
as London Irish away that shaped our
season in only a positive way – just as that
infamous Worcester thumping we received
two seasons ago did.
Those moments when your ideology
and your confidence are threatened is
where you grow the most, and each time
Literally nobody.
40 our Bears just came back stronger and
41
Well, except maybe the Lansdown family,
Chris Booy, Pat Lam and Mark Tainton.
with more determination to succeed and
inspire our community.
After all, they’re the brains behind the
operation. The ones with the vision, the
culture, the dream.
It’s they who took us from those dark,
disappointing Championship play-off days
and catapulted us to Premiership play-off
Professionals.
I think it’s impossible to understate the
work those three have done not only for
the club but for the profile of our great
city – it’s all well and good playing great
rugby, but it means nothing if you can’t
translate it to success on and off the pitch.
And thanks to the coaches and our
amazing group of players, we have done
and continue to do just that.
Our play this season - for the most part -
has been outstanding.
Those irritating games against Sale will
push us on further still – because with a
mantra like” ‘you never lose, you learn,’
how can you possibly fail?
It’s been a magnificent season, full of topclass
rugby, heart-warming moments, low
points and laughs.
We’ve come so far from where we
began, and amidst the spectacle and the
expectation we can lose sight of what
we’ve done as a club.
So, drink it in and enjoy it, Bears fans.
We’ve cheered and shouted and supported
the boys for moments like these.
Premiership play-offs? This is Bear
Country now.
Up the Bears.
BRISTOL BEARS VS HARLEQUINS | 2020/21 BRISTOL BEARS VS HARLEQUINS | 2020/21