Bristol Bears were held to an uninspiring 10-10 draw against the Australian XV on Friday night in a game that sadly failed to live up to its billing.
On what was a cold night at Ashton Gate, Australia opened the scoring with a try from Lachlan Anderson who went over in the corner. Bristol responded with a Sam Worsley penalty and a try from Benhard Janse van Rensburg just after halftime but a late try from Anderson gave Australia the draw.
Rugby reporter Sam Jess takes a closer look at the individual performances from the Bristol Bears players…
15. Toby Fricker – 5
The American international, like many of the Bristol side, struggled with the handling as the cold weather appeared to get the better of the Bears. The fullback’s evening was not great, with far too many errors both in his decision and handling.
14. Siva Naulago – 5
The winger had very few touches on his return from a broken jaw, and when he did, he often dropped it. A yellow card with five minutes from time for a cynical knock-on summed up his evening.
13. Kalaveti Ravouvou – 6
Partnering van Rensburg for the first time this season, the centre had a few nice moments linking up play and went close to scoring try in the first half after an impressive burst of pace, but he then gave a high risk offload on the deck that was knocked on.
12. Benhard Janse van Rensburg – 6
A man on fire this season, Janse van Rensburg’s game took a while to get going with some disconnect with the Bears backline. After a subdued first forty, van Rensburg sparked the hosts into life with a lovely line from a 5m scrum for the Bear’s first try and points. Defensively he was bullish from start to finish.
11. Gabriel Ibitoye – 5
Not playing for England means the Bears have Ibitoye, but it wasn’t his finest start to the game, slipping off a tackle for Australia’s opening try before he fumbled the ball moments later with the line begging to stop the Bears attack. A few too many times, the winger failed to back himself on the outside and stepped inside when the outside channel might have led to a score. It was not his night, as the second half saw him have limited touches while, again, he chose to slow the game up in attack rather than use his speed.
10. Sam Worsley – 5
In a rare start, the academy star was more of a system player with some neat touches to spread it wide. With the side not having their best game around him, Worsely struggled to show his stuff. He did, however, make crucial tackle moments from time to time.
9. Kieran Marmion – 5
It was a rather quiet game for Marmion with a one-half break, but with bigger games to come, he was subbed at halftime.
1. Jake Woolmore – 6
The loosehead prop had a decent game, making some good hits, and was solid as the set-piece.
2. Harry Thacker – 7
After a slow start, the hooker nearly scored just before halftime from a driving maul, but it was deemed short and then held up much to Pat Lam’s frustration with the Bears director of rugby certain the ball had been grounded. A neat step after halftime gave his side a bit of attacking promise, but that was about it.
3. Lovejoy Chawatama – 6
It was not his best outing with limited involvement, but he was again solid during scrum time.
4. Joe Owen – 7
The young lock was a menace at the lineout. A steal from the first Aussie lineout set the tone and helped his game get of to a fine start and that continued with many crucial moments as he was bright star in a rather poor game.
5. Joe Batley – 7
One of the stars of the season so far, Batley made his presence felt early with a charge down and he made at least one of his now trademark breaks.
6. Jake Heenan – 6
A decent outing, but again, not at his best with handling for many of the Bears lacking.
7. Fitz Harding – 7
After a slow start, Harding got his game going with a great line and offload, but much like the Bears start to the game, the ball was fumbled moments later. While his attacking game wasn’t the sharpest, his defence was top-notch, forcing multiple mistakes from Australia.
8. Benjamin Grondona – 6
He had very limited opportunities to show his attacking work, but when he arrived, he showed promise.
Replacements
16. Gabriel Oghre – 6
17. Max Lahiff – 6
18. Sam Scott – N/A
19. Ethan Surrey – N/A
20. Tom Doughty – N/A
21. Oscar Lennon – 7
22. Gethin O’Callaghan – 6
23. Jacob Cusick – N/A