Well if there was ever a game for the neutral supporter, that ladies and gentlemen was it. After an explosive opening with the Bears three tries to the good and taking a 21-point lead after only 13 minutes you would have believed the writing was on the wall for another famous Bristol victory at the Rec.
Unfortunately we, as so many times previously this season, were the architects of our own demise. All the hard work and total dominance of the opening 25 minutes was turned on its head, starting with the yellow card given to Harry Thacker and then, fatally from our perspective, by the red card given to the returning Siva Naulago.
Siva’s opening half hour showed us the Jekyll and Hyde character of his rugby persona. Firstly he produced a world-class finish in the corner for our third try when it looked almost impossible to score, only to be sent off 15 minutes later with yet another high tackle.
We knew when he arrived in Bristol from rugby league we had a unpolished diamond, we also know that a great deal of time and effort was put in by the coaching team to polish him into the finished article for rugby union.
I understand that in the heat of battle players can result to default mode but the whole balance and outcome of the game swung at that very moment. Not only did he let his teammates down but also back-to-back red cards will be frowned upon by the governing body, resulting in yet another lengthy spell on the sidelines for one of our most potent attacking weapon.
On a more positive note, the courage and determination shown collectively in defending all over the pitch was admirable and young Oscar Lennon was assured and confident on his debut at scrum half. Also credit to Joe Joyce, who was paraded in front of the cameras post-match and gave an honest assessment of where it went wrong.
As heart-breaking as the finale of the game was for us, let’s take a moment to remember there are much bigger issues going on in the world currently. Despite the result, both sets of supporters were hugely entertained and able to put those issues aside for 80 minutes at least.
