Bristol Rugby

Bristol Rugby

Full name	Bristol Football Club
Union	Gloucestershire RFU
Founded	1888 (1888)
Location	Bristol, England
Ground(s)	Ashton Gate Stadium (Capacity: 27,000)
Coach(es)	Pat Lam
Captain(s)	Jack Lam
League(s)	Championship
2016–17	12th in Premiership (relegated)
1st kit 2nd kit
Official website
www.bristolrugby.co.uk

Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club recently played in the English Premiership but will be relegated into the RFU Championship in September 2017. Bristol Rugby club dates back to 1888.

History

Formation and early history

Bristol Football Club was formed in 1888 when the Carlton club merged with rival club Redland Park to create a united Bristol team. Westbury Park having refused to merge then folded and many of its players subsequently joined Bristol. The County Cricket Ground at Nevil Road was leased for home matches.

The first match was a heavy away defeat to Cardiff and although the first season was relatively successful the second was not with only three games won. The club went from strength to strength over the next few years under the captaincy of W. Tommy Thomson. It turned the corner and in 1891–92, now wearing the more familiar navy and white hooped shirts, the Bristol team won 20 games out of 24.

Over the ensuing seasons the fixture list went from strength to strength, consisting of most of the top English and Welsh sides. In 1900 J. W. Jarman became Bristol's first England cap. Two major touring sides played Bristol during this period. The first New Zealand All Blacks defeated the club 41–0 in 1905 and in 1909 a combined Bristol and Clifton RFC team, captained by Percy Down, lost to Australia 11–3.

World Wars

The club was beginning to bring on a new generation of players when the First World War halted all rugby. After the war a Bristol United side was formed to provide rugby for returning servicemen and this led to the rebirth of Bristol in 1919. The County Ground was no longer available for home games so the club rented a field at Radnor Road, Horfield although occasional matches were staged at the Bristol City and Bristol Rovers grounds. The Radnor Road seasons were good ones for the club and a new crop of stars appeared.

The Memorial Ground stadium was built on an area of land called Buffalo Bill's Field which was previously occupied by allotments in 1921. Bristol defeated Cardiff 19–3 in the opening match in front of a large crowd.

The fiftieth anniversary was celebrated in 1938 but the next few years saw a fall in performances and the final inter-war season was a poor one. During World War II a Bristol Supporters team kept rugby union going in the city. Thus Bristol had readily available players when peacetime rugby union resumed in 1945.

1950s

The playing record in the early fifties was mixed, but there was a huge improvement under the captaincy of first Bert MacDonald, and then Dick Hawkes. Records were broken in 1956–57 and even better was to follow in what has been called 'The Blake Era'.

Fly half John Blake became captain in 1957 and under his leadership the club developed an entertaining running style of rugby involving backs and forwards, which was years ahead of its time. The Bristol club set and broke new records for wins in a season and points scored and goal kicking forward Gordon Cripps rewrote the individual points scoring records.

1960s–1980s

The 75th anniversary was celebrated in 1962–63 and floodlights were installed in the following season. Club form peaked in 1965–66 under Derek Neate's captaincy when 39 games were won, and again in 1971–72 under Tony Nicholls. This was the club's best ever season with a thousand points being scored for the first time and the team being crowned unofficial English and Anglo-Welsh champions.

Under Mike Rafter's captaincy, the club won the John Player Cup in 1983, defeating Leicester 28–22. During this period Alan Morley established a world record of 479 tries in senior rugby. The centenary season with Nigel Pomphrey as captain was celebrated in style with a game against the Barbarians and a narrow defeat in the cup final, but thereafter there was a gradual decline in playing standards. The team did not really adapt well to the demands of league rugby and the club's administrators struggled to cope with the professional set up.

1990s

In 1996, Bristol Rovers moved into the Memorial Stadium as tenants of Bristol Rugby, and later took over ownership of the stadium through the Memorial Stadium Company.

1998–99 (Premership Two)
Relegation to Premiership Two in 1998 was not the worst of Bristol's problems. Only an eleventh hour rescue by Malcolm Pearce saved the club from potential oblivion. Bristol also lost control of the Memorial Stadium Company to Bristol Rovers and were tenants thereafter until their eventual departure from the stadium at the conclusion of the 2013–14 season. Bristol's first season outside the top flight brought with it a number of first-time visits to clubs. Bristol went on to win the Premiership Two title and promotion back to Premiership One, sealing the win with a 22–11 victory over Worcester.

2000s

The World Cup disrupted the early part of the 1999–00 season, with a number of players missing the first few games. Under the captaincy of Dean Ryan the team finished sixth, just missing out on European Cup qualification. At the end of the season Dean Ryan took over as Head Coach from Bob Dwyer. After an opening day victory over newly promoted Rotherham, Bristol had a disappointing 2000–01 season finishing ninth. Off the field, Jack Rowell became managing director, and successful community initiatives saw the attendance figures rise.

The 2001–02 season brought a new name, Bristol Shoguns, following a five-year £2-million sponsorship deal with Mitsubishi Motors. The Shoguns finishing the season with the most bonus points in the Zurich Premiership, three players in the top try scorers chart, a place at Twickenham in the final of the Championship, and also a place in the Heineken Cup for the 2002–03 season. In the close season Head Coach Dean Ryan moved to Gloucester, Jack Rowell resigned as Director of Rugby whilst skipper Jason Little retired. Peter Thorburn took over as coach. League results were mixed, but there were more wins than defeats including a first ever league win away at Bath. At Christmas 2002 owner Malcolm Pearce announced that he would quit at the end of the season.^[1] Rumours circulated that Bristol could be sold to Firoz Kassam and play out of Oxford, and a merger with rivals Bath had been mooted.^[2] Neither event came to pass, but Bristol were relegated at the end of the season as off-field distractions took their toll.^[3]

Before the start of the 2003–04 season Martin Haag and a week later Richard Hill joined as first team coach and head coach respectively. While the board were raising money to stabilise the club Haag and Hill implemented a 'three-year plan' to rebuild Bristol and put them back in the Premiership. They won National League One the following year and were promoted.

The club's deal with Mitsubishi expired in July 2005, and the club started 2005–06 in the Premiership as Bristol RFC. Bristol elected to play two 2006–07 games at Ashton Gate, home of football side Bristol City. The local derby against Bath and the game against Leicester were moved from the 11,750 capacity Memorial Stadium to Ashton Gate's 21,500 capacity to allow more fans the chance to watch the team. The precedent for this was established for a crucial relegation fixture against Bath in May 2003. Bristol finished third in the league, securing a Heineken Cup place for only the second time, and then reached the semi-finals of the play-offs, losing 26–14 at Leicester. Martin Haag was released as Bristol's forwards coach in June 2007^[4] and replaced by John Brain.^[5]

Bristol could not replicate the success of the previous season and ended the 2007–08 season in 9th place. They also failed to progress from their Heineken Cup group, despite a home win against Stade Français. The following season Bristol struggled, winning only two games, and were relegated from the premiership.^[6] Richard Hill stepped down as coach in February 2009, with two months and eight games of the season remaining.^[7] Paul Hull took over as Bristol's head coach.

2010–2015

Following a failed attempt to immediately return to the Premiership, losing to Exeter Chiefs in the final of the play-offs, a number of first team players quit the club and financial pressures caused significant worries at the club once more.^[8] With a more modest squad of players, Bristol struggled to find winning form in the 2010–11 season finishing eighth in the championship and failing to reach the playoff finals. In 2011, following a lack of success Paul Hull in mutual agreement with club left Bristol Rugby and was replaced by academy coach Liam Middleton.^[9] In Middleton's first full season in charge Bristol finished top of the championship table but failed to progress to the play-off finals, losing to Cornish Pirates in the semi-finals.^[10] From the 2008–09 season businessman Stephen Lansdown financed Bristol Rugby, this only became public knowledge when Lansdown formalised his ownership of the club in 2012.^[11]

In the 2012–13 season Bristol missed out on the play-off finals, finishing fifth in the championship. At the end of the 2012–13 season it was announced that former Ospreys head coach Sean Holley would join Bristol Rugby as the first team coach.^[12] Andy Robinson joined Bristol Rugby as director of rugby in March 2013,^[13] at first working with head coach Liam Middleton but following a poor run of results Middleton was sacked by the club following an internal review later in March 2013.^[14]

The 2013–14 season brought a return to form with Bristol Rugby finishing top of the championship table. However, Bristol failed to secure promotion to the premiership, losing both legs of the play-off finals to London Welsh. In the close season a number of players were signed to the club in expectation of promotion for the 2014–15 season, including Samoan Internationals Anthony Perenise Jack Lam & David Lemi, Welsh internationals Matthew Morgan, Ian Evans, Ryan Jones^[15] and Dwayne Peel^[16] and Wing George Watkins return from Cardiff Blues mid season. Further signings for the 2014–15 season would feature Gareth Maule, Jack O'Connell, Darren Hudson and Gavin Henson.

Bristol Rugby moved from the Memorial Stadium to Ashton Gate Stadium, the home of Bristol City Football Club. Ashton Gate Stadium had a capacity of 21,497. In the run-in to the end of season play-off's the club signed high-profile players in Hooker Ross McMillan, Italian Centre Tommaso Benvenuti and Welsh international Gavin Henson. End of the season saw the departure of Forwards Coach Danny Wilson to Cardiff Blues. The Club again failed to earn promotion to the Premiership for the 2015–16 season losing by one point to Worcester Warriors in the Play-off Finals. At the end of the season Wales international fly half Nicky Robinson leaves the club to take up a fresh challenge in France with Oyonnax.

2015–present

Much of the squad from the previous season remained with Andy Robinson bolstering his options for the new campaign by signing Ex England winger Tom Varndell. On 4 February it was announced that New Zealander Mark Bakewell would replace Borthwick. The New year saw the announcement that Matthew Morgan to further his international chances was to be leaving the club at the end of the season and joining Danny Wilson at Cardiff Blues. However, Bristol were able to clinch promotion to Aviva Premiership with a 60–47 aggregate win over Doncaster.

February 2016 saw the signing of Wales International scrum half Rhodri Williams from Scarlets for the 2016–17 season. Tusi Pisi signed for the club from Japan's Sunwolves Super Rugby franchise in March. Head Coach Sean Holley resigned from his position at the club.^[17] Former Welsh Internationals Jonathan Thomas appointed first team Defence Coach & Dwayne Peel Backs and Skills Coach. Further signings include USA International Centre Thretton Palamo from Saracens and Tongan International Prop Forward Soane Tonga'uiha from French side Oyonnax.

November 2016 saw the sacking of Director of Rugby Andy Robinson due to poor results and 'lost confidence' from the board. Club stalwart and top points scorer Mark Tainton was appointed interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Further signings announced by club included Siale Piatau from Sunwolves, Irish international lock forward Dan Tuohy, All Black international scrum half Alby Matthewson and Shane Geraghty from London Irish.

On New Year's Day, 2017, Varndell equalled Mark Cueto's premiership tries record of 90 tries by scoring against Sale Sharks. This followed a hat-trick in the previous week against Worcester Warriors. On 10 February Varndell became the leading try scorer in the Aviva Premiership when he scored against Harlequins at Ashton Gate.

On 5 December 2016, it was announced that Pat Lam would become the new Head Coach for Bristol Rugby after leaving the Irish region Connacht ahead of the 2017-18 season.^[18]

Summary of league positions

Summary of Bristol's league positions since league rugby was introduced in 1987.^[19]

Season	League	League position	End of season
1987–88	Courage League	9th	n/a
1988–89	Courage League	7th	n/a
1989–90	Courage League	9th	n/a
1990–91	Courage League	11th (of 13)	n/a
1991–92	Courage League	10th (of 13)	n/a
1992–93	Courage League	6th (of 13)	n/a
1993–94	Courage League	4th (of 10)	n/a
1994–95	Courage League	6th (of 10)	n/a
1995–96	Courage League	6th (of 10)	n/a
1996–97	Courage League	9th	n/a
1997–98	Premiership	12th	Relegated
1998–99	Division One	1st	Promoted
1999–00	Premiership	6th	n/a
2000–01	Premiership	9th	n/a
2001–02	Premiership	8th	n/a
2002–03	Premiership	12th	Relegated
2003–04	Division One	9th	n/a
2004–05	Division One	1st	Promoted
2005–06	Premiership	11th	n/a
2006–07	Premiership	3rd	n/a
2007–08	Premiership	9th	n/a
2008–09	Premiership	12th	Relegated
2009–10	Championship	1st	Lost the playoff final to Exeter
2010–11	Championship	8th	Finished bottom of promotion play-off group.
2011–12	Championship	1st	Lost the playoff semi-final to Cornish Pirates
2012–13	Championship	5th	n/a
2013–14	Championship	1st	Lost the playoff final to London Welsh
2014–15	Championship	1st	Lost the playoff final to Worcester
2015–16	Championship	1st	Won the playoff final in aggregate against Doncaster Knights
2016–17	Premiership	12th	Relegated

Archives

Records relating to Bristol Rugby Club are held at Bristol Archives (Ref. 41582) (online catalogue) and (Ref. 44624) (online catalogue).

Current standings

2016–17 Aviva Premiership Table
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Tries for	Tries against	Try bonus	Losing bonus	Points
1	Wasps (RU)	22	17	1	4	693	502	+191	89	61	13	1	84
2	Exeter Chiefs (CH)	22	15	3	4	667	452	+215	86	55	15	3	84
3	Saracens (SF)	22	16	1	5	579	345	+234	66	28	8	3	77
4	Leicester Tigers (SF)	22	14	0	8	567	445	+122	58	48	6	4	66
5	Bath	22	12	0	10	486	440	+46	52	49	5	6	59
6	Harlequins	22	11	0	11	532	526	+6	57	59	5	3	52
7	Northampton Saints	22	10	0	12	476	490	−14	52	50	5	7	52
8	Newcastle Falcons	22	10	0	12	430	581	−151	51	73	5	4	49
9	Gloucester	22	7	2	13	533	537	−4	61	64	6	8	46
10	Sale Sharks	22	7	1	14	471	595	−124	55	70	6	4	40
11	Worcester Warriors	22	5	2	15	466	662	−196	56	74	5	4	33
12	Bristol (R)	22	3	0	19	382	707	−325	42	94	2	6	20
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background (rows 1 to 4) are play-off places and earns a berth in the 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup. Blue background (rows 5 & 6) indicates teams outside the play-off places, that earns a berth in the 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup. Yellow background indicates the team that advances to a play-off for a chance to compete in the 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup. Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the 2017–18 European Rugby Challenge Cup. Red background (row 12) will be relegated, as both the Greene King IPA Championship play-off finalist are eligible for promotion. Starting table — source:

Current squad

2017-18 Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Max Crumpton Hooker England Ross McMillan Hooker England Jason Harris-Wright Hooker Ireland Ryan Bevington Prop Wales Sione Faletau Prop Tonga Gaston Cortes Prop Argentina Jack Cosgrove Prop Scotland Jack O'Connell Prop Ireland Anthony Perenise Prop Samoa Soane Tonga'uiha Prop Tonga Giorgi Nemsadze Lock Georgia Joe Joyce Lock England Dan Tuohy Lock Ireland Joe Batley Lock England Joe Latta Lock New Zealand Sam Jeffries Flanker England Nick Haining Flanker Australia Dan Thomas Flanker Wales Chris Vui Flanker Samoa Nick Fenton-Wells Flanker South Africa Jack Lam Flanker Samoa Olly Robinson Flanker England Steven Luatua Number 8 New Zealand Jordan Crane Number 8 England

Player Position Union Reiss Cullen Scrum-half Scotland Rhodri Williams Scrum-half Wales Ryan Glynn Scrum-half England Ian Madigan Fly-half Ireland Billy Searle Fly-half England Callum Sheedy Fly-half Wales Tusi Pisi Centre Samoa Siale Piutau Centre Tonga Will Hurrell Centre England Thretton Palamo Centre United States Alapati Leiua Centre Samoa Jack Tovey Centre England Ryan Edwards Wing Wales David Lemi Wing Samoa Tom Varndell Wing England Jack Wallace Wing England Luke Morahan Fullback Australia Matt Protheroe Fullback England Jordan Williams Fullback Wales

Academy squad

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Tyler Gendall Prop England Ollie Dawe Prop England Tom Rowland Prop England Nick English Prop England Jordon Liney Hooker Wales Nick Freeman Hooker Wales James Dun Lock England Ehize Ehizode Lock England John Hawkins Lock England Jack Capon Flanker England Dan Thurston Number 8 England Andy Uren Scrum-half England Sam Bedlow Centre England James Newey Centre England Matt Welsh Centre England George Perkins Wing England Iwan Hughes Fullback England Tom Hargan Fullback England

Staff

Management

• Owner – Stephen Lansdown
• Chief Operations Officer – Mark Tainton
• Chairman – Chris Booy
• HR Manager - Lesley
• Financial Controller – Alec Bellamy
• Rugby Administrator – Sarah Gorvett
• Head of Communications – Tom Tainton
• Director of Rugby –
• Team Manager – John Harrison

First Team Coaching

• Head Coach – Pat Lam
• Forwards Coach – Mark Bakewell
• Defense Coach – Jonathan Thomas
• Senior Performance Analyst – Stuart Powell
• Performance Analyst – Kristian James
• First Team Strength & Conditioning Coach – Tom Hargroves
• Head of Recruitment & Talent Identification - Alan Martinovic

Academy

• Academy Manager – Mike Hall
• Academy Forwards Coach – Mark Irish
• Academy Backs Coach – Sean Marsden
• Academy Coach & Player Development Manager – Gary Townsend
• Academy Strength & Conditioning Coach – Johnny Harris-Wright

Previous Head Coaches/Director of Rugby

Years	Name	Achievements
1980 - 1984	Dave Tyler	RFU South West Merit Table Winners 1980, 1981, 1982 John Player Cup Winners 1983 John Player Cup Finalists 1984
1984 - 1986	Mike Rafter
1986 - 1988	Bob Hesford	John Player Cup Finalists 1988
1988 - 1990	Rob Cunningham
1990 - 1992	Colin Mcfadyean
1992 - 1995	Brian Hanlon
1995 - 1996	Alan Davies
1996 -1998	Darryl Jones
1998 - 2000	Bob Dwer	Allied Dunbar Premiership Two Champions - Promoted to Allied Dunbar Premiership One 1998-99
2000 - 2002	Dean Ryan
2002 - 2003	Peter Thorburn
2003 - 2008	Richard Hill	National Division One Champions - Promoted to Guinness Premiership 2004-05 Powergen Shield Champions 2004
2008 - 2011	Paul Hull	Brirish and Irish Cup Champions 2011
2011 - 2013	Liam Middleton
2013 - 2016	Andy Robinson	Greene King IPA Championship Champions - Promoted to Aviva Premiership 2015-1016
2016 - 2017	Mark Tainton
2017 -	Pat Lam

Club honours

• Anglo-Welsh Merit Table Winners 1966, 1972, 1974
• RFU South West Merit Table Winners 1980, 1981, 1982
• John Player Cup champions: 1983
• John Player/Pilkington Cup runners-up: 1973, 1984, 1988
• Allied Dunbar Premiership Two/National Division One/Greene King IPA Championship champions (3 times): 1998–99, 2004–05, 2015–16
• Powergen Shield Champions: 2004
• British and Irish Cup Champions: 2011

Notable and former players

For all Bristol players with a Wikipedia article see Category:Bristol Rugby players

Notable players to have played for the club include:

• Tom Richards, who played for both the British Isles and Australia
• Sam Tucker
• John Blake
• John Pullin
• Alan Morley
• Agustín Pichot
• Felipe Contepomi
• Jason Little, double World Cup winner with Australia
• Henry Honiball
• Gareth Llewellyn, who until 2007 was the most-capped player for Wales
• Ryan Jones
• Dwayne Peel
• Gavin Henson

There are several former Bristol Rugby players currently playing at other top flight clubs:

• Mako Vunipola
• Ellis Genge
• Dave Attwood
• Callum Braley
• Auguy Slowik
• Tom Arscott
• Marco Mama
• Darren Barry
• Alafoti Fa'osiliva

References

External links

• Official site
• Bristol Rugby Independent Supporters' Trust
• Independent Bristol Rugby Online
• Bristol Rugby Web Site Directory