rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Memorial Ground The Memorial Stadium, also commonly known by its previous name of the Memorial Ground, is a sports ground in Bristol, England, and is the home of Bristol Rovers F.C. It opened in 1921 dedicated to the memory of local rugby union players killed d ...

Pat Lam Patrick Richard Lam (born 29 September 1968) is a rugby union coach and former player. He is currently Director of Rugby at Bristol Bears in England's Premiership Rugby. Born in New Zealand, he represented New Zealand in schools and under-21 ...

2021-22 Premiership Rugby Increment or incremental may refer to: * Incrementalism, a theory (also used in politics as a synonym for gradualism) * Increment and decrement operators, the operators ++ and -- in computer programming * Incremental computing *Incremental backup, ...

2022-23 European Rugby Challenge Cup The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as such. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

Percy Down Percy John Down (14 October 1883 – 24 June 1954)
Scrum.com was an

, 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,The End of the Line
ESPN, Huw Richards, 04/06/14 Horfield although occasional matches were staged at the Bristol City and

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

grounds. The Radnor Road seasons were good ones for the club and a new crop of stars appeared. The

Memorial Ground The Memorial Stadium, also commonly known by its previous name of the Memorial Ground, is a sports ground in Bristol, England, and is the home of Bristol Rovers F.C. It opened in 1921 dedicated to the memory of local rugby union players killed d ...

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 Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

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.

1990s

In 1996,

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

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 Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

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 A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

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 Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, 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. Chief Executive Nicholas de Scossa was involved in debates about top clubs separating from the Rugby Football Union and forming a new Premier League. 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 Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

, three players in the top try scorers chart, a place at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

in the final of the play-offs (the year before winning the play-offs constituted winning the English title), and also a place in the Heineken Cup for the 2002–03 season. In the close season head coach Dean Ryan moved to

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, 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. Rumours circulated that Bristol could be sold to Firoz Kassam and play out of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and a merger with rivals Bath had been mooted. Neither event came to pass, but Bristol were relegated at the end of the season as off-field distractions took their toll. 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 and replaced by John Brain. 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. Richard Hill stepped down as coach in February 2009, with two months and eight games of the season remaining. 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. 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. 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 The Cornish Pirates ( kw, An Vorladron Gernewek) are a professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn ...

in the semi-finals. From the 2008–09 season businessman

Stephen Lansdown Stephen Philip Lansdown CBE (born 30 August 1952) is an English-born Guernsey billionaire. He co-founded the British financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown with Peter Hargreaves. He is a founder of Bristol Sport and majority shareholder of ...

financed Bristol Rugby, this only became public knowledge when Lansdown formalised his ownership of the club in 2012. 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.

Andy Robinson Richard Andrew Robinson OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland and England. From September 2019 to Dec ...

joined Bristol Rugby as director of rugby in March 2013, 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. 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 Ryan Paul Jones (born 13 March 1981) is a Wales former international rugby union player who played at number eight, blindside flanker or second row. He was involved in three Grand Slam wins, in 2005, as captain in 2008, and 2012. He is one ...

and

Dwayne Peel Dwayne John Peel (born 31 August 1981) is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player. He was the most capped scrum-half for the Wales national rugby union team with 76 caps, until his record was surpassed by Mike Phillips on 16 March 2013. Yo ...

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 Gavin Lloyd Henson (born 1 February 1982) is a Welsh former professional rugby union player, who played as a fly-half, fullback and inside centre. Between 2000 and 2019 he played for Llanelli, Swansea RFC, the Ospreys, Saracens, Toulon, Ca ...

. 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 Peter Ross McMillan (born 2 June 1987) is a professional rugby union player. His position is hooker. McMillan has previously played professionally for Nottingham, Gloucester, Moseley, Coventry, Birmingham & Solihull, Northampton, Bristol and ...

, Italian Centre Tommaso Benvenuti and Welsh international

Gavin Henson Gavin Lloyd Henson (born 1 February 1982) is a Welsh former professional rugby union player, who played as a fly-half, fullback and inside centre. Between 2000 and 2019 he played for Llanelli, Swansea RFC, the Ospreys, Saracens, Toulon, Ca ...

. 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 Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top division of domestic ...

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 Oyonnax () is the second most populated commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Oyonnax lies in a valley of the Jura Mountains in the far north of Ain. It is near the Parc naturel régional du Ha ...

.

2015–2018

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 The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

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. Former Welsh Internationals Jonathan Thomas appointed first team Defence Coach &

Dwayne Peel Dwayne John Peel (born 31 August 1981) is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player. He was the most capped scrum-half for the Wales national rugby union team with 76 caps, until his record was surpassed by Mike Phillips on 16 March 2013. Yo ...

Backs and Skills Coach. Further signings include USA International Centre

Thretton Palamo Thretton Palamo (born September 22, 1988) is an American rugby union player who plays centre for Old Glory DC of Major League Rugby (MLR). When he appeared in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he became the youngest ever player to have played in the Rug ...

from Saracens and Tongan International Prop Forward Soane Tonga'uiha from French side

Oyonnax Oyonnax () is the second most populated commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Oyonnax lies in a valley of the Jura Mountains in the far north of Ain. It is near the Parc naturel régional du Ha ...

. 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 Piutau from

Yamaha Jubio Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

, 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 Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top division of domestic ...

. On 10 February Varndell became the leading try scorer in the Aviva Premiership when he scored against Harlequins at Ashton Gate. Ultimately, Bristol finished bottom of the Premiership in their returning year, having been relegated with 2 weeks to go after a 21–36 loss against Wasps at Ashton Gate. They finished 12th with only 3 wins and 20 accumulated points, 13 behind 11th placed Worcester Warriors. Their three victories involved beating Worcester 28–20 at Ashton Gate, beating Sale 23–24 at the AJ Bell, and dramatically defeating longstanding rivals Bath Rugby 12–11 at home. Following their relegation, several notable signings moved away from the club, including Jason Woodward to

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed in ...

and Gavin Henson to Newport Gwent Dragons. On 5 December 2016, it was announced that

Pat Lam Patrick Richard Lam (born 29 September 1968) is a rugby union coach and former player. He is currently Director of Rugby at Bristol Bears in England's Premiership Rugby. Born in New Zealand, he represented New Zealand in schools and under-21 ...

would become the new head coach for Bristol Rugby after leaving the Irish region

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...

ahead of the 2017–18 season. Notable signings ahead of the new season were Australian International Luke Morahan from Western Force and All Black Steven Luatua from Blues. Bristol secured promotion in the 2017-18 RFU Championship with two games to spare on 7 April 2018 and ultimately finished top with only one defeat at the hands of Jersey Reds on 4 March 2018. Bristol finished 20 points ahead of

Ealing Trailfinders Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the current champions of the RFU Championship but will remain in that league due to ineligibility for promotion to Premi ...

and a further 15 points ahead of third placed Bedford Blues. The scrapping of the promotion playoffs that season meant that the team at the top of the table after the regular season was promoted. This greatly played into the club's hands as the playoffs have dramatically turned against them in the past; in the 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons, Bristol finished first in the table, only to be eliminated by

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played its home m ...

,

Cornish Pirates The Cornish Pirates ( kw, An Vorladron Gernewek) are a professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn ...

,

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seaso ...

and

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top division of domestic ...

respectively, three of whom secured promotion instead.

2018–2019: Return to Premiership and rebrand

On 1 June 2018, Bristol Rugby was re-branded as the Bristol Bears following their return to the Premiership. The club announced a raft of new signings including the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

full back Charles Piutau from

Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Ulster Branch, which is one of ...

, former All Blacks Prop John Afoa from

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed in ...

and Hooker Harry Thacker from Leicester Tigers. The opening match of the 2018–19 Premiership Rugby season was against fierce rivals Bath Rugby at Ashton Gate. A crowd of over 26,000 watched Bristol Bears run out 17-10 victors over their old foe. The winning try was scored by

Alapati Leiua Alapati Leiua (born 21 September 1988) is a Samoan professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Japan Rugby League One club Shizuoka Blue Revs and the Samoa national team. Professional career Born and raised in Samoa, Leiua ...

with four penalties scored by Irish International fly half

Ian Madigan Ian Madigan (born 21 March 1989) is an Irish professional rugby union player for Ulster. His primary position is at fly-half, although he can also play at centre and full-back. Club career Madigan made his senior debut for Leinster in a Celtic L ...

. Bristol finished the season in 9th place including nine victories (one over Bath, Harlequins,

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

and Saracens and two over Leicester Tigers and

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

). In Europe, Bristol were drawn in Pool 4 of the Challenge Cup with the other teams being Stade Rochelais, Zebre and

Yenisey-STM Krasnoyarsk Yenisey-STM Rugby Club is a Russian rugby union club founded in 1975. It is one of the two powerful Krasnoyarsk clubs, the other being their cross town rivals Krasny Yar. They participate in the Professional Rugby League, the premier rugby cham ...

. On 15 December 2018, Bristol recorded a surprise win over Stade Rochelais in a 3–13 at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre through a try by forward Jordan Crane and a dogged defensive display. They finished second in their group before losing 39–15 to Stade Rochelais in the quarter finals, ending their run in the tournament. On 29 November, it was confirmed that the Bears would be signing Semi Radradra ahead of the 2020/21 season, joining on a 3-year deal from Bordeaux Bègles, creating one of the most dangerous back three in Rugby Union, alongside Charles Piutau and Luke Morahan.

2019–Present: European success

Bristol signed England internationals Nathan Hughes and Dave Attwood in advance of the 2019/2020 season and also Henry Purdy from Coventry Rugby to bring a total of 15 new signings. Players released included Tusi Pisi, Jack Lam and George Smith. Bristol started their second year in the Gallagher Premiership with a home tie against Bath Rugby. This resulted in a 43-16 win for the Bears and included a try on his senior debut for Ioan Lloyd who came on as a replacement at full back. The season continued with a loss to Harlequin F.C. away before a home win against Sale and a memorable away win at Sandy Park against the eventual champions,

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played its home m ...

. December brought a dip in form on the domestic front with a home draw with London Irish and defeats to Saracens and Wasps. In the European Challenge Cup, Bristol were drawn against Zebre, CA Brive and Stade Français. Bristol won all but one of these fixtures home and away with the only non win being the 7-7 away draw with Zebre. A return to the premiership resulted in back to back wins against Gloucester, Northampton Saints, Bath and Harlequins. However, the season was then interrupted by the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

pandemic and all rugby was suspended by the RFU on 17 March 2020. The season resumed on 15 August without any spectators with a home win against . By this time, the club had been joined by the new signings of Semi Radradra, England prop Kyle Sinckler from Harlequin F.C. and the Saracens loanees of Ben Earl and

Max Malins Maxim Hugo Malins (born 7 January 1997) is an English professional rugby union player who primarily plays wing for Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership. He has also represented England at international level, having made his test debut agains ...

. Eventually Bristol finished third in the Premiership meaning an away semi final against Wasps. Bristol lost this 47-24 to finish with a domestic record of 14 wins, 1 draw and 7 losses. A total of 561 points were scored and 457 conceded. In the Challenge Cup, Bristol finished top of their group and were given a home quarter final against welsh side

Dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

. Bristol ran in seven tries to win 56-17. This set up a home semi final against Bordeaux Bègles which was won by the home side 37-20 after extra time. In the final they faced former European Champions,

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

a
Stade Maurice David
in Aix-en-Provence. Bristol scored the fastest try in European Rugby final after just 15 second through a try from scrum half Harry Randall. A second try from

Max Malins Maxim Hugo Malins (born 7 January 1997) is an English professional rugby union player who primarily plays wing for Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership. He has also represented England at international level, having made his test debut agains ...

and points from the tee came from the two conversions and six penalties from the boot of Callum Sheedy to give Bristol the cup with a 32-19 win and their first ever major European title

Season summaries

Gold background denotes champions
Silver background denotes runners-up
Pink background denotes relegated

Club honours

Bristol Bears

* European Challenge Cup ** Champions: (1) 2019–20 *

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

**Champions: (4) 1998–99, 2004–05, 2015–16, 2017–18 * Anglo–Welsh Cup **Champions: (1) 1982–83 **''Runners–Up: (3) 1972–73, 1983–84, 1987–88'' * British and Irish Cup **Champions: (1)

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

*

EDF Energy Trophy The EDF National Trophy was a cup competition which ran from 2006 to 2009 for the 118 clubs of the Rugby Football Union from National Division One and below. Previously these teams had played in the Powergen Cup, but were excluded from that cup u ...

**Champions: (1) 2003–04 *Anglo-Welsh Merit Table Winners **Champions: (3) 1965–66, 1971–72, 1973–74 *RFU South West Merit Table Winners **Champions: (3) 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82

Current squad

Senior squad

The Bristol Bears squad for the 2022–23 season is:

Academy squad

The Bristol Bears Academy squad is:

Club staff

Management *Owner –

Stephen Lansdown Stephen Philip Lansdown CBE (born 30 August 1952) is an English-born Guernsey billionaire. He co-founded the British financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown with Peter Hargreaves. He is a founder of Bristol Sport and majority shareholder of ...

*Chairman – Chris Booy *Head of Operations – Tom Tainton First team coaching *Director of rugby –

Pat Lam Patrick Richard Lam (born 29 September 1968) is a rugby union coach and former player. He is currently Director of Rugby at Bristol Bears in England's Premiership Rugby. Born in New Zealand, he represented New Zealand in schools and under-21 ...

*Assistant coach –

Conor McPhillips Conor McPhillips (Irish name: ''Conchobhar MacPhilib'' ; born 9 February 1981) is a former rugby union player from Ireland, who currently works as an assistant coach for English Premiership side Bristol Bears. McPhillips spent his professional p ...

*Scrum coach –

Mark Irish Mark Irish (born 25 August 1981) is an English rugby union footballer who plays at prop for London Scottish. Irish joined Gloucester from amateur club Bridgwater but failed to play a first team game and was released at the end of the 2003-04 ...

*Defence coach - Jordan Crane *Forwards coach - John Muldoon *Skills Coach – Sean Marsden *Kicking Coach - Dave Alred *Mental Skills Coach - Tom Bates *Academy transition coach –

Danny Grewcock Daniel Jonathan Grewcock MBE (born 7 November 1972) is an English former rugby union player who played as a lock. He played for Coventry, Saracens and Bath. He won 69 caps for England and five for the British & Irish Lions. Early life Grewcock ...

*Head of performance – Paul Bunce Academy *Senior academy manager – Gethin Watts *Junior academy manager – Gary Townsend *Junior Academy Coach - Keith Leaker *Senior Academy Coach - Brad Barnes Bristol Bears Women *Head Coach - Dave Ward *Assistant Coach - Tom Luke

Head coaches/directors of rugby

Notable and former players

Lions Tourists

The following Bristol players have been selected for the Lions tours while at the club: * Wallace Jarman (

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

) *

Percy Down Percy John Down (14 October 1883 – 24 June 1954)
Scrum.com was an

( 1908) *

Maurice Edward Neale Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...

( 1910 Tour to South Africa) * Jack Spoors ( 1910 Tour to South Africa) * Tom Richards ( 1910 Tour to South Africa) * John Pullin ( 1968 & 1971) * Alan Morley ( 1974) * Mark Regan ( 1997 & 2001) *

Simon Shaw Simon Dalton Shaw MBE (born 1 September 1973) is a former English rugby union player who played as a lock. He played for Bristol, London Wasps and Toulon. He won 71 caps for England between 1996 and 2011, and 2 for the British & Irish Lions ...

( 1997) * Kyle Sinckler (

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

)

Rugby World Cup

The following are players which have represented their countries at the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

whilst playing for Bristol: *

References

External links

*
Bristol Rugby Independent Supporters' Trust

Independent Bristol Rugby Online

Bristol Rugby Web Site Directory

Premiership Rugby Official Website
{{Bristol Bears squad Premiership Rugby teams English rugby union teams Rugby clubs established in 1888 Rugby union in Bristol Sport in Bristol 1888 establishments in England

History

Formation and early history

World Wars

1950s

1960s–1980s

1990s

2000s

2010–2015

2015–2018

2018–2019: Return to Premiership and rebrand

2019–Present: European success

Season summaries

Club honours

Bristol Bears

Current squad

Senior squad

Academy squad

Club staff

Head coaches/directors of rugby

Notable and former players

Lions Tourists

Rugby World Cup

Archives

References

External links