Bears and Bosses - Bristol (A) Preview

Mike is joined by David Cowe to discuss the experience of a matchday in La Rochelle, the logic of sending a young side to the mammoth men of the French giants plus we discuss the departure of Gorgeous George. We also look ahead to the annual defeat against Leinster but ask...could this be the year we finally turn them over?

With Mike unavailable, Iain Morton comes off the bench this week to discuss the latest twists and turns in the George Martin saga, look over a well-fought win over Newcastle and preview a tough voyage to La Rochelle. In amongst this, we ponder if a real life tiger did meet Martin Johnson in the 90's!

Mike and Elliott are back in your ears to talk George Martin rumours, spiders, punch ups, derby wins, Red Bulls and frozen unmentionables.  It's all highbrow stuff as always!

Mike and Elliott are joined by Tigers stalwart and chief maul destroyer Harry Wells to celebrate his testimonial season and look ahead to some of the exciting events planned, raising money for some amazing causes in the process. Plus, the usual sprinkling of international reviews and rumour analysis to top things off.

After an unexpected week-long break, Mike and Elliott return to catch up on accounts, transfer rumours, international call ups, wins over Sale and Newcastle and Emeka Illione's mental carrying mentality. We also look over the first eight games of Geoff's reign and find plenty to be positive about.

Mike is joined by good friend of the pod, Iain Morton, who steps in for Elliott as he's away on his jollies, as they marvel at a gutsy, last minute win over the champions, Bath, thanks to a dominant scrum and some serious plums from Billy Searle. Plus, we look ahead to the always-brutal fixture against Sale, and ask if this is actually a pretty good time to play them...

Mike and Elliott review an hair-tearingly frustrating performance against East Midlands rivals, Northampton, as the boys go down to a narrow defeat which leaves us asking why Tigers seem to be struggling to take that final step to scoring at the moment. Things don't get easier as the Prem champions come to town and we preview our home fixture against Bath.

With Mike unavailable for selection, David Cowe is summoned from the subs bench to fill in to help review a topsy turvy win over Harlequins. We also process the sad news about Tigers hero Lewis Moody, as well as look ahead to the usual blood and thunder encounter with local rivals Northampton this weekend. 

Mike and Elliott are forced to relive some painful memories from two years back as the Tigers stutter to defeat against Bristol at Ashton Gate, but find plenty more encouragement in this display as compared to that one. We chat about what went wrong and right, laud the Big Red Machine (Ches) as the new skipper and look ahead to a shot at getting back on track at home against Harlequins.PS Apologies for some iffy sound quality from Mike - undetected microphone issue, apparently.

Mike and Elliott enjoy a gritty and encouraging win by a young Tigers side against a much more experienced Quins outfit and ask what they can take from this preseason. Plus, we preview the PREM kick-off against the Bears, and laude James O'Connor's air-mile game.