RugbyRebels

Bordeaux Begles Team:

15. Romain Buros, 14. Damian Penaud, 13. Yoram Moefana, 12. Ben Tapuai, 11. Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10. Matthieu Jalibert, 9. Maxime Lucu, 1. Jefferson Poirot, 2. Maxime Lamothe, 3. Carlü Sadie, 4. Guido Petti, 5. Thomas Jolmes, 6. Bastien Vergnes, 7. Mahamadou Diaby, 8. Pete Samu

Replacements: 16. Clément Maynadier, 17. Ugo Boniface, 18. Sipili Falatea, 19. Kane Douglas, 20. Marko Gazzotti, 21. Antoine Miquel, 22. Théo Nanette, 23. Pablo Uberti

Bristol:
15. Rich Lane (27 apps), 14. Noah Heward (10 apps), 13. Piers O’Conor (128 apps), 12. James Williams (28 apps), 11. Kalaveti Ravouvou (3 apps), 10. Sam Worsley (5 apps), 9. Sam Wolstenholme (3 apps); 1. Max Lahiff (74 apps), 2. Gabriel Oghre (5 apps), 3. George Kloska (38 apps), 4. Ed Holmes (100 apps), 5. Josh Caulfield (13 apps), 6. Joe Owen (5 apps), 7. Jake Heenan (c) (101 apps), 8. Magnus Bradbury (31 apps).

Subs: 16. Will Capon (80 apps), 17. Sam Grahamslaw (3 apps), 18. Steven Longwell (debut), 19. James Dun (24 apps), 20. Paddy Pearce (4 apps), 21. Oscar Lennon (8 apps), 22. Joe Jenkins (10 apps), 22. Jack Bates (35 apps)

Home win and a comfortable one I should think. Bordeaux have gone strong and a lot of changes for Bristol. Good to see Kloska starting and a bunch of junior players in the mix. But will be a huge ask to get a result.

RICH LANE!!! and POC in their preferred positions. Bristol by 83 etc etc

That Bordeaux team does look an awful lot stronger but in the past they have shown a bit of weakness. Silence the crowd early and team confidence will stutter.

Be a difficult game at full strength. Bris some way off that preferring to rotate and bring in a few younger players. Big test for Kloska, the half backs and a very green bench.
Could be a testing afternoon to say the least.

fivepointer wrote: ↑Fri Dec 15, 2023 7:28 pm . Bris some way off that preferring to rotate and bring in a few younger players

Its exactly what the likes of Bordeaux used to get slated for on away European matches

Pat Lam has been fairly open, next week against Newcs is a must win and the focus is on that.

I heard that the Newcs coaches didn't travel to the SA game this week and they're set on next week as well.

Bloody hell. Bristol should be able to turn up next week with Lam, Crane and Walder in the team and still expect up win with a bit to spare. Says a lot if they’re having to target the Newcastle game.

Mellsblue wrote: ↑Sat Dec 16, 2023 1:14 pm Bloody hell. Bristol should be able to turn up next week with Lam, Crane and Walder in the team and still expect up win with a bit to spare. Says a lot if they’re having to target the Newcastle game.

I suspect PL is starting to get a lot of internal pressure. The plan was for Bris to be targeting a Champions cup win at this time point - not struggling to avoid 10th/relegation..

jimKRFC wrote: ↑Sat Dec 16, 2023 12:00 pm Pat Lam has been fairly open, next week against Newcs is a must win and the focus is on that.

I heard that the Newcs coaches didn't travel to the SA game this week and they're set on next week as well.

again, exactly what french teams were being slated for seasons ago. Sort of inevitable, and a message to the rugbu authorities. When sqaud sizes are capped, it'll get worse...