Ball in paw: How Bristol Bears think they’ve cracked it

‘When they click, they’re devastating - and so much fun to watch…’

‘They can beat anyone… on their day.’

We’ve all said, or heard said, such things when it comes to Bristol Bears women. Before taking on the West Country’s blue-and-red-clad entertainers, defence coaches address hunting high to stifle offloads, teams’ tacticians consider how they’ll pin back and punish a squad hellbent on keeping the ball in hand, and commentators head to thesaurus entries for ‘razzamatazz’, ‘free-flowing’, and ‘flair’.

As we emerge from the Six Nations, having hit ‘pause’ on Premiership Women's Rugby, Bears sit atop the entertainment metrics. 2,904 passes, 1,980 carries, 154 offloads, 127 line breaks, and 423 tackle busts.

In every case, the gap between them and the chasing pack is sizeable: this is a side whose DNA is woven from ownership of the ball. If you stand behind a Bristolian scrum, you’ll see ‘Made in Possession’ printed on the soles of each of their feet.

Those feet are for stepping, sprinting, bracing, and propulsion - but not, as Bears’ Backs and Attack Coach Tom Luke tells this column, for footballing. "For the last two and a half years, we’ve spent most of our time dealing with people telling us that we need to kick the ball more, but we’ve stuck to our guns. We believe it’s the right way to play: we’re just going to get better and better at it."

He and Head Coach, Dave Ward, share an office with the men’s staff at Bristol’s High Performance Centre: a domain where handling is king, and hoofing miles down the pecking order.

Indeed, Pat Lam’s side have won their last six Premiership fixtures to roar into playoff contention - a run which has coincided with them dropping their average kicks per match from 30 down to 13 - including just four en route to slamming 85 points on Falcons in Round 15.

Across the room, the women’s masterminds are also ‘flipping the narrative’ around the importance of putting boot to ball, and striving to become ‘the best team in the league’ by playing with it instead.

They’ve certainly committed to the cause, and kicked just 131 times so far this season - 10 per outing. The next most kick-averse side are Tigers, who average 14. Chiefs, with Alex Tessier’s cannon at their disposal, have put boot to ball on a whopping 254 occasions (20 a game).

"We don’t believe in box kicking unless we’re in really dire straits. There’s always space somewhere, and we believe in playing until we find it. It’s definitely not in fashion, and we get a lot of grief for it, but we want to drive so much success that people realise that if they permeate a willingness to up-skill, to encourage bravery, and to keep more ball, they’ll enjoy similar results."

The speed and accuracy of the 2015 Brave Blossoms get a mention - ‘everybody’s second favourite team’ - as does the hard-wired handling ability of the All Blacks and Black Ferns.

Nippers dashing around playing minis aren’t box kicking or booting for territory - so why should senior athletes, when there’s the option of creating something ball-in-hand? "We want to be the Barcelona of women’s rugby," Luke enthuses, as we bury into this ball-carrying revolution.

Firstly - does it work? Suggesting so is that Bears are headed for their third straight playoffs. They’ve beaten Saracens and Exeter this season, and have run the reigning champions close twice.

Suggesting otherwise is that they’ve managed a try bonus point on fewer occasions than the other sides in those semi-final berths, conceded more turnovers than anyone else in the league, and - critically - are yet to reach a final.

"We’re under pressure to win," Ward admits. "My plan when I came in was to be Premiership champions in our third season. We’re now in that third season… Two and a half years’ work will culminate in the six weeks when we get back from the Six Nations."

In year one - they looked to have edged a thriller of a playoff against Chiefs, when Jennine Detiveaux broke Bristolian hearts with a 78th-minute score. The following season, they headed to Queensholm, and just didn’t do themselves justice.

"We put too much pressure on it. I lost my rag with them during the warm-up, and - for the first 20 - they were terrified: worried that they’d not earned the right to pass, or offload, or anything. We had such an opportunity that day… That was a really poignant message for me: there’s plenty of learning on the job with all of this."

In 2024 - the skills are crisper than ever, the recruitment’s been stellar, the coaches have experienced the cauldron of knockout rugby, and - perhaps most crucially of all - Luke believes they’re more adaptable than ever. And - yes - that sometimes means kicking the thing…

In February, a canny Loughborough put 14 in their front line, daring Bears to penetrate an African Violet wall - but they problem-solved on the fly, helped no end by their crucial new addition.

Holly Aitchison often appears to have the ball on the string, and that ‘world-class territorial kicking game’ could be the missing piece, they explain. "Our ceiling with Holly is higher than ever: she allows us that flexibility. It’s no good being the most exciting team to never win a semi-final, so we’ll kick if we have to - if that gives us the right to play our style of rugby.’

It’s a style which requires serious investment on the training paddock. 'How many passes can we do in a week?' is a question regularly posed by the coaches, and they’ve become obsessed with honing ‘The most skilful players in the league. If you come to Bears’ high-performance programme, we want you touching the ball over a thousand times a week - comfortably," Ward pronounces.

Mondays start with catch-pass training: indoors, with a clean, dry ball - with a huge emphasis on accuracy. "We’re pedantic - I suspect the girls are sick of hearing our cues," Luke says with a smile. No one is safe - he’s on ‘constantly’ at even Amber Reed and Aitchison. "They’re brilliant natural ball players, and they can throw 98 out of 100 passes perfectly - but I want them throwing all one hundred."

It’s made recruitment straightforward. "If you ask any rugby player want they want to do,’ Ward offers, ‘it’s pass, carry, and tackle, so it’s not a hard sell: we’re doing those things at Bristol." The pair want every single athlete getting hands on the ball at least ten times per match, and playmakers ought to be hitting 35.

Their backline’s littered with blockbuster handlers and voracious carriers - and so’s their pack. Rownita Marston-Mulhearn, Alisha Butchers, Claire Molloy, Simi Pam, Sarah Bern, and Evie Gallagher: it’s no coincidence these tricksy juggernauts are playing with Bears on their chests. On the flip side, they admit - it doesn’t always work: some players haven’t clicked with how hard they’re asked to work in attack, or how flat to the line they’re operating.

There’s a sustainability piece here, too. If they can - like the aforementioned Barcelona - fill trophy cabinets via scintillating rugby, ‘people will want to come and watch us play,’ which only strengthens the women’s programme.

Whilst there are men’s sides like Japan, Fiji, or Bristol Bears who keep ball in hand more, there’s - broadly - an entrenched dependency on kicking. It’s not too late for the women’s game, Luke argues: "We have an opportunity, whilst this is still in its infancy, to play the game in a way which creates a better and different product."

Ward picks up. "The skills, the flair, the ten different try scorers, and the best playmakers on the pitch all at the same time. If you asked any of the coaches 'Who has the best kicking game and defence?', we’d not be anywhere near it, but “who plays the best rugby?” - I like to think we’d be in everyone’s top two." Just look at how well-received the Red Roses’ ‘handbrake off’ approach has been in attack this past month: effervescent attack keeps turnstiles whirring accordingly.

Most immediately, though - Bristol are after some silverware. This is that crucial third season, after all, and they’ve three matches left before the biggest of their campaign - perhaps of their existence. The two disagree amiably about which other Big Four side they’d like to face on June 9th, but all roads lead to that semi-final - whether it’s a wolfpack, circus, or chiefs outfit lying in wait.

That this is a bye week could prove crucial: their (many) Six Nationers will return in need of re-indoctrination. "We’re like a little cult with the way we play," Ward explains.

"It takes a good week or two to get the international shackles off them. 'Don’t be scared: throw the pass. Don’t be scared: throw the pass.' It’s great they get exposure to the big crowds, the stadia, and the noise - but I think,’ he laughs, ‘we’d rather have them the whole time."

The team’s values spell out their insignia: BEARS. ‘We refer to them all the time,’ Luke explains. ‘The “B” is for “brave”: this isn’t about being perfect - it’s about always doing your best.’

Doing your best, and embodying their vivacious brand of rugby. ‘If it’s good for the team: throw it.’

Over the next month, as Bristol sharpen their claws and go hunting for history, we’ll find out just how devastating that adage might prove.

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