In this week's show we prepare, bake and scoff large amounts of humble pie after the surprise Bears' victory away at Sale Sharks. How can we be so bad and so good all in one week? We get the views of regular social media followers and also hear from yet another roving reporter who saw the game live, as well as throwing in our thoughts and opinions for good measure.

The last time a South African side game to the Gate a whole nation was disappointed but this time we welcome the Bulls in the next round of the Champions Cup. We are joined by fan A-P Cronje who not only gives us the lowdown about one of South Africa's premier club sides but also throws in a bit geography and history to boot. You can't say you don't learn stuff on this pod.

Finally, we have a quick chat about the work the Bears Women need to do to as they enter the second half of their season and finish off by mentioning that we have been nominated in the best rugby pod category for the 2024 Sports Podcast Awards. Seeing as we are up against national behemoths like The Rugby Pod and Maul or Nothing we could really do with your votes as well as those of extended families, distant relatives and anyone else you happen to know.

If you haven't done so already please click on the link below and help us push for amateur pod glory!

Vote here!

Thanks and Up the Bears!

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Crocodile Dundee returns to chew the Christmas cud with a somewhat unstructured ramble thought the festive period culminating in a long discussion about the impacts of last Friday's hugely disappointing defeat against Exeter 2.0 in front of sell-out crowd. Despite leading 14-12 at the break the Bears were bageled in the second half at the hands of a young, hungry and well drilled outfit leaving many fans wondering were we go from here. You'll have to put in a big oral shift to find out what we think!

In other news we have been shortlisted in the 'Best Rugby Podcast' category in the 2024 Sports Podcast Awards. There will be more information in the next pod but if you can't wait until then, click the link below to find out more and cast your vote:

Vote for your favourite rugby fan podcast here and tell all your friends too

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In this week's episode we relish the record breaking 51-26 victory over Gloucester and the retention of the Rifles Cup. After five losses on the bounce this was as a cathartic an experience as you are likely to get and the relief flowing around the Gate on the final whistle was palpable. We read and hear the thoughts of our listeners and then briefly discuss what this means for our chances against Lyon and Bordeaux as we head for a brief diversion to the group stage of the Champions Cup before diving back into the Premiership again either side of Christmas. It wasn't all bad for the good people of Gloucester though as their women's team (so good they named it twice) despatched the Bears' women with a clinical 12-0 victory at a very cold Shaftesbury Park on Friday night. The Bears had plenty of possession in the second half but just couldn't make it count against a resolute and extremely well drilled opponent. That said there was plenty of 'learnings' to be had as they continue on their campaign to make it into the top four at the end of the season. All this and more with Pete, Miles and Lee and a couple of cheeky craft ales at the Bristol Beer Factory Taproom.

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We slip to a fifth defeat in a row at the Stone X but battle hard for a cheeky try bonus point which was the least we deserved. We may have scored a couple of worldies but we also shipped seven and if Owen Farrell had put his boots on the right way round it could have been a lot worse. We review the game with help from a few listeners and the Chair of the Supporters Club and then look forward to the Rifles Cup on Saturday which really, really, really is now a must, must, must win game. We also hear from Ed from the Cherry Jam pod who gives us his take on Gloucester’s similarly disappointing start to the seasons but also provides us some insight into their Women’s team who take on ours on Friday night. On that note we also review the Bears Women’s’ visit to Sandy Park this afternoon with help from yet another freelance roving fan reporter. We have tentacles everywhere! So strap in and listen to Lee, Miles and Pete as we climb on board the Bristol Bears rollercoaster yet again for a cheeky beer and a bit of rugby banter!

Running order:

0:00

Intro banter

4:00

Listener tweets and roving reporter feedback from the Stone X

13:25

Our in-depth analysis!

32:47

Chat with Ed Price from the Cherry Jam pod

45:54

Our thoughts on the line-up for the Rifles Cup

56:47

Intro to the Bears Womens’ Game vs Exeter

59:33

Second roving reporter feedback from Sandy Park

1:01:13

Our thoughts on the game

1:08:19

Final thoughts on Bears abroad!

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In this week's episode - our 150th - we chew over the agonising last ditch defeat at the Rec with help from our listeners and reflect on how we really need to start getting on the right side of 'fine margins' otherwise the season is going to slip away. That said, there were plenty of positives to take from the game and we pray that they might be somehow converted into points, cheeky or otherwise, at the Stone X stadium on Saturday. On that note we hear from Jez Denton from Saracens' Fezcast pod and spend a lively few minutes picking our team before broadly predicting a defeat. On a happier note we also review the Bristol Bears' Womens' victory over Sale Sharks Women and note what a fantastically family-esque atmosphere it was. With Miles and Pete and various kids in attendance you really do hear it from the horses' mouths.
All this and more with Pete, Miles and Lee recording live from the Bristol Bear Factory Tap Room with a couple of pints of Milk Stout and a little bit of background noise from time to time.

0:00 Introduction and chit chat

4:30 Listener thoughts on the Bath game

9:57 Our thoughts on the Bath game

33:28 Jez from Fezcast

43:48 Our thoughts on the Saracens game

59:00 Review of the Bristol Bears Womens' game

1:07:09 Final thoughts

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Let us know what you think!

WARNING - THERE IS THE SOUND OF RAIN FALLING AT VARIOUS POINTS DURING THIS RECORDING BUT WE WERE TRYING SOMETHING NEW SO BE PATIENT WITH US!

😩

So, our unerring ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory 
continues with a second frustrating result in a week down at Sandy Park. To be fair it was a gritty performance at the place where both Sarries and Sale have recently been humbled and a hat trick of cross field kick tries for Rich Lane was a delight to behold but ultimately, we came away with a big fat zero.

With only ten teams in the league can we really afford to be this profligate and why is that we continue to end up on the wrong side of the line when fine margins come into play. It happened last season and it’s starting to happen again.

We discuss the game with the help from another roving fan reporter and then look forward to Sale’s visit on Saturday and ask is this our first must win of the season. We also mention the fantastic performances of the Bears Women for the Red Roses down under in the XV tournament and for once don’t even ‘allude’ to Miles’ Instagramming development.

Join Pete, Lee and Miles for a cheeky beer and a bit of rugby banter.

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So, the brief winning run is over thanks to a last gasp penalty for Quins at the death on Saturday. It was family day at the Gate but unfortunately the Bears were unable to keep all the kids happy with a mixed display that included some very good but also some frustratingly sloppy bad. Ultimately we were the architects of our own downfall and our decision making under pressure and sometimes not under pressure came back to haunt us.

We look back at the game with help from our listeners again and discus the extent to which this was simply a blip after a bright start or rather something more terminal. A new look Exeter Chiefs away at Sandy park are up next and given that they have now scored a combined total of 108 points at home against both of last season's Premiership finalists, how worried should we be? We hear from Dave Flak from the Tribe Talking fan pod and offer our own predictions.

Finally, we round up any other relevant talking points including the Bears Women, a charity match at Dings and competition from a new fan pod on the block!

All this and more with Pete, Lee and Miles and a cheeky beer or two.

Timings:

00:00: Intro chat chat

03:20: Listeners' thoughts

07:48: Our analysis of the game

28: 14: Dave Flak from Tribe Talking

38: 37: Our thoughts on the Exeter game

47: 20: Final round up of other Bears related stuff

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It's the first time in three years that we have won away at Franklin’s Gardens although after going 18-9 down early in the second half it was great to see the boys ‘dig’ themselves out of a hole and ‘sow the seeds’ of a victory with a penalty and a converted try before the break ultimately making Miles ‘soil’ his pants at the death by efficiently managing the game out in the second half.
We revel in this bonus point 33-27 victory and continue our strategy of involving our listeners in the pod by hearing from two roving fan reporters who sent us outside broadcasts from the game. This result leaves us second in the table with 9 points but we’re not getting too carried away as its early days and we still remember what happened last season after our good start. 
We also preview the visit of the fancy dan boys from SW London with help from our good friends at the Harlequins podcast and finish off by discussing some of the issues raised by Steve Lansdown in his Q&A last week as well as revealing the result of the annual BBTG paddle board derby and find out who has their hands on  Kingsbridge Cup. Pete is joined by Lee and Miles for a cheeky beer and a bit of rugby banter.

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Well, the waiting was over and after an extended pre-season the Premiership finally returned to Ashton Gate with the visit of Leicester Tigers. With both teams missing international players, it was an opportunity for new signings and squad players to impress, and impress they did, albeit mainly for Bristol. At 25-0 up and cruising some of us were wondering whether we were going to get that magical 80-minute performance in game day one. However, the second half was more of a battle but ultimately it was a very satisfactory win. We chat about the game and those players who made a good impression and introduce a new feature – contributions from some of our listeners -  including the brief thoughts of our mate Binnsy.

Next up is Saints away so we discuss how we think that one will go and what team we think we’ll be sending up to the East Midlands and we hear briefly from another friend of the pod – Northampton Echo’s Sports writer, Tom Vickers, as he gives us the lowdown on their game at Sale this afternoon and how they might set up against us next Saturday. 

Finally, we round up any other Bears-related news that we feel is worthy of discussion including the return of fireworks in front of the Dolman and our ongoing obsession with photographing people wearing robes at rugby…

Let us know what you think!