Ep 205 - Bears win ugly in the ding-dong derby

This week we go over Friday night’s 7-try, 49-point dismantling of Gloucester under the lights and in front of the baying crowd at Kingsholm. We regained the Rifles Cup with another warrior-like performance of grit and graft but also sprinkled some fantastic handling and offloading. Despite our injury woes if felt a bit like the Bears Way in its full glory.Not only did the frenetic nature of the game help last minute loanee and former fan favourite Toby Fricker shrug off his stag do hangover, but it also allowed Mattias Moroni to get over his jet lag having, flown into Bristol on the red eye earlier in the week. However, in young Sam Worsley we had a bone fide Academy player who definitely came of age delivering a high class performance and becoming the first Bristol player to kick seven conversions in a Prem rugby match. We went with Gloucester-supporting Lewis who was supposed to join us tonight but he has unsurprisingly cried off, but we do hear from his Dad Steve who was the Gloucester team doctor back in the day of Mike Teague and the like.3 wins out of 4 is a pretty good return give the injuries but we have a final challenge down the road before the Autumn Internationals ‘literally’ kick in. Given that Bath lost to Tigers, are we heading towards an epic backlash or should we go with some extra confidence given that our recent performance history has been pretty good there? We hear from Bath fans, Tom Dabs and Matt Price who gives thir thoughts. Either way you can be sure that the likes of Gengey, Dunnie and Kloska will be ready for them.All this and more with Pete, Miles and Lee in rugby union's only lock-in pod down at the Bristol Beer Factory Taproom.Chapter markers are avaible again!Let us know what you think!

Pete, Miles and Lee pick through the narrow win against the Chiefs as well as previewing the upcoming fixture against Gloucester with help from Ed Price from the Cherry Jam fan pod.There is also the usual excellent contributions from listeners and a bonus section on Bennard Janse Van Rensburg's post match interivew with Clare Thomas.Finally, we finsh off with a big, big Goat, an update on the work of the Supporters Advisory Committee and pay homage to the game's look-a-like cam effort.Slight apologies for the length of the episode, but to make it more manageable chapter markers have been inserted to allow for 'structured' listening!Let us know what you think!

The five key takeaways from the pod this week after a few cheeky beers and bit of rugby banter…1. Bears suffered an "absolute shellacking," losing 50-17 after falling 31-0 down by halftime, though the lads accept that Saracens' performance was "outstanding" and they probably would have beaten any team in the league it was that good.2. The Bears just couldn’t convert any of pressure that they did create struggling with red zone efficiency and only scoring only 17 points from 12 entries into the 22 despite having 62% possession and 57% territory overall. Was it case of Sarries been too good or Bears making too many mistakes? As always, it was probably a ‘bit of both’ erring on the side of Sarries being too good.3. The defeat highlighted the risk of starting the season with the smallest squad in the premiership, and this has unfortunately been exposed by an unprecedented number of early-season injuries to key players in key positions. The medical boys have definitely got their work cut out.4. A massive positive, however, was the team's second-half resilience exemplified by Kieran Marmion’s standout performance. He was the best Bears player on the pitch and scored a quality hat-trick.5. We need a "bounce back" performance against Exeter Chiefs, with the lads highlighting the return of key personnel, including Fitz Harding and Ellis Genge, Santi Grindona, Pedro Rubiolio and Benjamin Elizadlde to reinforce the squad.Let us know what you think!

We chew over the opening day bonus point victory from the Media Conference Room at Ashton Gate. We were the only ones in it mind but it was still quite exciting nonetheless.A shaky first half, where Tigers did a 'Radwan' on us, subsequently developed into a comfortable victory as the intensity increased, the pack took control and Prem debutant Tom Jordan ran the show.The atmopshere at the stadium was excellent as the Bristol faithful wallowed in the early Autumn sun and it was somehat apt that as the vicotry strains of 'Drink up ye Zider' echoed around the ground, the Thatchers hot air balloon gently ascended from Ashton Court.We're up and running (literally!).Let us know what you think!

Pod friend James Dun makes his second appearance live from the BBF Taproom to tell us how pre-season has gone, talk us through how the boys will prep for the game during the week and even make some of his own suggestions for ramping up the atmosphere at the Gate, in particular searching for George Kloska look-a-likies in the crowd...As always, we appreciate his time and it's good to see the 'fourth mic' getting some more action.We also hear from Elliott Butlin from Tigers fan pod, The Rolling Maul, who gives us the low-down on their season prep, how some of their new players are shaping up and how he sees the game going on Sunday.The Prem is nearly upon us. Up the Bears!Let us know what you think!

Having reached a double ton at the end of last season wth the help of emerging club and Instagram legend James Dun, the boys road-test their brand new crowd funded recording equipment at the BBF Taproom Studio Bar for the season seven opener with Bears CEO Tom Tainton, who, lets be honest, was well impressed with the set up and admtted that he had never done a pod in a lock-in before.The boys asked him briefly about his journey to the top before diving in with some of the sorts of questions that we hope our listeners would expect us to ask - fan engagment, whether the Big Day Out made money, merchandise, Simba cam and much, much more.Tom was a very engaging interviewee and took his time to clarify and engage many of the issues that are close to fan's hearts. He admitted that sometimes the club had got things wrong but also reaffirmed his belief that the club is in a great position and that the future is bright. It was very good of him to come down to our manor on a Sunday night and it can be confirmed that at least two of the can opening sound effects, much loved by many listeners, were definitely of his making.As always your feedback is welcome both on our socials or via [email protected] the Bears!Let us know what you think!

Running order:00.00 - 14.30: Re-living the semi at the Rec14.30 - 18.40: Back to the start of the season and the focus on cohesion18:40 - 25.45: Pronouncing Ravouvou, thoughts on Rubiolo and gym strength25.45 - 30.45: Integrating the Internationals30.45 - 41.00: Lee's list of positives, centurion or not centurion and Wooley tribute41.00 - 52.30: European campaign, man love for BJVR and the Clermont cauldron52.30 - 70.07: Quick fire questions:Fitzy's real name?Batesy's super skill? England aspirations?Next season's squad?Nicknames?And then an abrupt finish as the memory card ran out of space...Let us know what you think!

After being 'super-excited' for the game on Friday and reaching high peaks of excitement at half time we talk about the glorious defeat to them down the road in the play off semi final at the Rec.It was everything we had hoped for bar the final score but just like that, the season was over.Having spent the afternoon at the cricket, and with the 200th episode looming, we decide to do a 'half pod' instead.We talk through the incidents, the individual performances and muse on what might have been.If anyone wants to buy a relatively cheap final ticket then get in touch with Pete!Let us know what you think!

In this week's episode we re-live a fantastic day down the Gate when the Bears secured their first play off berth in four years with a resounding 52-26 victory over Quins. The Bears Way was on display in its full roller-coaster splendour although to be fair they weathered a small storm in the second half and then powered to the finish line, much to the frenzied delight of the majority of the 20,000 fans in the stadium (minus the Quins supporters who, to be fair, seemed very gracious in defeat).The prize? Another visit to one of our happier hunting grounds just down the road.Banana skin? Target on their back? All the pressure on them? The cliches are rolling off our tongues but the bottom line is we have nothing to lose, have a pack that might just cause them a few things to think about and if we get front foot ball then we know we have the weapons to win the battle and propel us further east to the promised land of a first Premiership final.Finally, we run through a bit of AOB which includes questions around the number of season ticket renewals, a debate on whether the the hoops on the home shorts are the in the correct order for middle aged men who drop food down their front, and then a quick sprint to the finish line with a run through of the end of season award winners from the ceremony that took place after the game on Saturday.Running order:0.00 - 6.20: Introduction6.20 - 12.10: Post match soundbites12.10 - 38.54 : Review of the game38.54 - 45.13: Listener contributions45.13 - 53.54: Bath preview53.54 - end: AOBLet us know what you think!

Join Pete and Lee as they review the Friday night loss at Sale and how Saints' win against Sarries has provided us with a play off lifeline.At least things are simple now. Win against Quins and we are in the play offs.Lose and we probably won't be...Up the Bears!Let us know what you think!