Following Bristol Bears’ 42-24 win over Leicester Tigers at Ashton Gate, here are our key winners and losers from the PREM round one clash.
Winners
Benjamin Grondona
A truly excellent display from the young Argentinian forward, who could be set to jump out of his brother’s shadow at Ashton Gate. He always made himself available for a carry and seemed to find himself charging through space whenever he touched the ball, too. This performance will also please Los Pumas boss Felipe Contepomi, with the Argentina coach potentially beginning to think about the next generation of his back-row.
Benhard Janse van Rensburg
Another deliciously classy display from the man England so desperately want, but may never get. His silky hands allowed Bristol’s attack to once again flourish, playing a key role in getting the likes of Tom Jordan, Louis Rees-Zammit and Gabriel Ibitoye into the game, but he also acted as that crucial power option when needed. The South African-native trucked through the middle with relative ease to just give his side that front-foot ball when things seemed to be grinding to a halt.
Tom Jordan
What a PREM debut from the Scotland star, who looked very much like the star signing he promised to be. He looked pretty comfortable when deployed at 15, but upon shifting to 10, he just upped the ante in attack and got the Bears playing some lovely rugby. Be it through a cross-field kick-pass out wide, tasty handling to send his players charging through gaps or even kicking for posts, he was solid in every aspect of his game today.
Bristol bench
The Bears’ depth was tested to its fullest today, but the bench stepped up when it mattered most. The likes of Josh Carrington, Kalaveti Ravouvou and Viliame Mata all made a serious impression upon their entry, seamlessly filling in for those they replaced. This is also a huge plus for boss Lam that his bench can come on and make that sort of impact on a game, given the quality he already has on the physio table.
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Adam Radwan
His tit for tat battle with Ibitoye brought the best out of both of them, with Radwan the star performer for Leicester at Ashton Gate. His electric pace, eye for space and ability to beat a defender all came to the fore in his brace of tries, but he backed that up with some superb work around the park to get his side in with a sniff. This was also another step up from where he was at the end of last year, and with Steve Borthwick looking on, it was certainly a good time to drop a display like that.
Losers
Bristol injuries
AJ MacGinty, Harry Randall, Ibitoye, Steven Luatua and Fitz Harding all saw their shifts come to a premature close through injury, which will cause serious concern moving forward. MacGinty seemed to pick up an Achilles injury, Randall, Ibitoye and Luatua suffered hamstring issues while Harding also picked up a head knock late into the game, and while their replacements all came in and did a good job, they are all key men within this side. Aside from Harding, who seemed ok after the final whistle, they all now seem set for an extended stint away from the pitch.
Pat Lam
Bristol’s squad is already one of the smallest in the league, but the early withdrawal of both of their starting half-backs and then Ibitoye, Luatua and skipper Harding, too, will come as a major blow to Pat Lam. The Bears’ boss has often said Randall serves as a metronome for his side, while MacGinty and Ibitoye have also been key men for their all-out attacking style, so losing all three to quite nasty-looking injuries will worry him in the days to come. The blow to Luatua also throws up some questions within the pack, as well as losing valuable experience. It also means he will likely be forced to test his squad depth out a lot earlier than previously thought, which will again be a concern given just how small their group is.
Hanro Liebenberg
Leicester also saw Hanro Liebenberg depart early in the day, with the South African coming off with a head knock and later failing his HIA. Liebenberg has been such a key man for the Tigers in recent years, bringing serious physicality to proceedings, so not having him next weekend will be a huge miss. The back-rower’s blow was initially detected by the new smart gumshields, which is a good sign of their effectiveness moving forward.