If last week’s tight win was down to the ‘Genge effect’ then this weekend’s historic away victory at Wasps was definitely the ‘Sheedy Show’. The likeable stand-off bagged the perfect scoring full house, including a rare collector’s item of a drop goal, thus cementing an excellent start to the season for the Bears generally, and for Callum individually.
He has emerged with a spring in his step (quite literally against Bath when his ‘antipodean hop’ opened up space for the Luke Morahan try) after a disappointing last season when his form dipped and he withdrew from social media to preserve his mental health.
AJ MaGinty’s arrival has contributed, not just in the competition that he provides, but in the advice he imparts in training and it is great to see Callum happy in his rugby skin again, but lets make no bones about it, the former Sale playmaker is not here to play second fiddle. He’ll want to have his slice of controlling the orchestra too and if that drives success then bring it on.
It was a classic away team ‘smash and grab’, built on an eye-wateringly ferocious defence, a sloppy opposition and a clinical exploitation of scoring opportunities. Despite the cliché that Bristol like to throw the ball around, Pat Lam has often said that there are different game plans to defeat different opponents and Saturday proved that we can adapt our game when required.
More generally, it was disappointing that Wasps’ home ground appears to have become a cavernous white elephant and a stark reminder that all rugby clubs need to get bums on seats if they are to have a sustainable future.
Bristol have led the way by enshrining the role of rugby as a means to inspire a community within its mission statement, but clever marketing, proactive fan engagement and of course, positive performances and results on the pitch are also vital.
The real challenge is growing support when things aren’t going so well but if pre-season and the first home game is anything to go by then a fair wind seems to be blowing around our club again and with the newly- appointed Tom Tainton at the operational helm then I’m sure that any future choppy waters will be navigated with success. Up the Bears!
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