The Rifles Cup is up for grabs once again as Bristol Bears host Gloucester Rugby on Friday night in the first West Country derby of the new Gallagher Premiership season.
The Cherry and Whites got their season underway with a 26-35 home defeat to a clinical Saracens side to up the ante on their trip down the M5 in Round Two of the Premiership. The Bears beat Newcastle Falcons 24-3 at Kingston Park with a bonus point on Friday night to go second in the table, dispite misfiring in attack at times. Having done his homework on Friday’s opponents, Gloucester director of rugby George Skivington said: “It was a competitive game. I think Bristol created a lot. I think they might have similar feelings to how we felt, they obviously won their game, but in terms of their attack I thought they created a lot and then just didn’t quite get over the line a few times But they probably left a good few tries out there but they stuck to their plan and scored some good tries later on in the game and obviously closed it out.
READ MORE: Bristol Bears v Gloucester Rugby LIVE: Play-by-play updates from Ashton Gate
“Bristol have been playing that way for a long time under Pat [Lam]. They’re well-versed on riding the wave and not scared of making mistakes. There’s a lot we can take from the way they play that pushes forwards how we want to look.”
Gloucester lost home and away to Bristol last season, going down 33-24 at Kingsholm back in March having been thrashed 51-26 at Ashton Gate in December and the Cherry and Whites will be looking to turn the page on a dismal record away at their derby rivals having not won away in the league at the Bears since Pat Lam arrived at the club in 2017. That record is one Lam is understandably proud of, he said: “Most people would expect us to win but I’ve got a lot of admiration for George (Skivington) and what he’s doing and being brave that they want to change the way they are playing,” he said.
“It’s potentially going to be a great game because you’ve got two teams who want to play rugby.
“We’re playing a team that has a lot of world-class players. We haven’t lost to Gloucester at home in my time here so we know what we need to do.”
Here are all the ways you can follow all the action…
When is the game?
Bristol Bears v Gloucester Rugby is being played on Friday, September 27 at Ashton Gate.
What time is kick-off?
The kick-off time is at 7.45pm.
Is the game on TV or being streamed?
Yes. The match has been selected to be shown live by broadcasters TNT Sports and online on the discovery+ app.
The game will be shown live on TNT Sports 1 with coverage starting at 7pm.
Highlights will also be available on the Premiership Rugby website shortly after the game.
How else can I follow the game?
If you are not going to be inside the stadium, and even if you are, BristolLive and GloucestershireLive will be live blogging the match bringing you all the build-up, team news, live play-by-play match updates, reaction, stats, analysis, interviews and highlights from inside the ground.
Will there be live radio commentary of the match?
BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Radio Gloucestershire will also be providing live commentary of the game.
What’s the team news?
Bristol Bears: 15. Max Malins, 14. Siva Naulago, 13. Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12. James Williams, 11. Gabriel Ibitoye, 10. AJ MacGinty, 9. Harry Randall, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Gabriel Oghre, 3. George Kloska, 4. James Dun, 5. Joe Batley, 6. Steven Luatua, 7. Jake Heenan, 8. Fitz Harding (c).
Replacements : 16. Will Capon, 17. Jake Woolmore, 18. Max Lahiff, 19. Josh Caulfield, 20. Benjamin Grondona, 21. Kieran Marmion, 22. Joe Jenkins, 23. Rich Lane.
Gloucester Rugby: 15. George Barton, 14. Christian Wade, 13. Chris Harris, 12. Seb Atkinson, 11. Max Llewellyn, 10. Gareth Anscombe, 9. Tomos Williams (c), 1. Mayco Vivas, 2. Jack Singleton, 3. Kirill Gotovtsev, 4. Freddie Thomas, 5. Matias Alemanno, 6. Jack Clement, 7. Harry Taylor, 8. Zach Mercer
Replacements: 16. Seb Blake, 17. Jamal Ford-Robinson, 18. Afo Fasogbon, 19. Freddie Clarke, 20. Ruan Ackermann, 21. Albert Tuisue, 22. Caolan Englefield, 23. Charlie Atkinson
Who are the officials?
Referee : Tom Foley
Assistant Referees : Matthew Carley & Simon Harding
TMO : David Rose