Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam believes he and the players “owe” the club’s fans a “really good Christmas game” when they host struggling Newcastle Falcons on Saturday.
Bears were thrashed 38-0 by Sale Sharks on the same date last year at Ashton Gate and were also beaten 24-14 at home by Exeter Chiefs in the 2023 festive game.
Lam’s side however are faring much better than Saturday’s opponents, sitting fifth in the Prem table on 24 points while winless Falcons are bottom and without a point.
“We said straight after the game [versus Harlequins] that we owe the community a really good Christmas game,” said the former Samoa head coach to BBC Radio Bristol.
“We didn’t perform last year against Sale, and the previous one was Exeter. We lost that one too, so there’s been a real commitment around putting on a really good performance for our fans.
“We also know that’s probably one of the biggest crowds at this time. That means there are a lot of Bristolians that come home, and it might be their only chance to watch us, so we feel this one is definitely for the fans.”
Bears are coming off a big away win against Harlequins at Twickenham but will be without prop Jake Woolmore this weekend.
The loosehead was forced off against Quins after initially coming off the bench and Lam revealed it was a cheekbone fracture.
England scrum-half Harry Randall is available for selection after recovering from a hamstring injury.
“He’s [Woolmore] got surgery coming up, so he’ll probably be out for about eight weeks. That means we’ll bring him back around the Prem Cup, and he should be good for the run-in later.
“Harry Randall got through a good 20 minutes work, which is great. Noah Heward was back last week, and Max Lahiff and Rich Lane were available as well.
“We didn’t select them, but they’re in the mix. Everyone’s working hard, and the more people that come back, the more difficult selection becomes, which is great.”
