By Graham Thomas
Pat Lam insists his Bristol Bears have plenty of good reasons to finally get stuck into the Scarlets this weekend – about 300,000 of them.
The English club’s head coach reckons the cancellation of their home fixture against the Welsh region in December cost Bristol around £300,000.
Lam acknowledges the 28-0 walkover victory in the Heineken Champions Cup occurred through no fault of the Scarlets – who were hit by Covid and isolation problems after their infamous trip to South Africa – but says their automatic four-tries-to-nil victory came at a cost.
“We lost up to 300k by not having that one game and 50k with the next one going as well,” says Lam, whose side visit Parc y Scarlets on Saturday evening in a match that is live on S4C.
The Bears were due to host Dwayne Peel’s men on December 11, but the Scarlets were unable to put out a team and the opening Pool B fixture was scrapped.
Lam’s side were then due to fly to France to face Stade Francais a week later, but French travel restrictions meant that game was postponed.
“We lost a significant amount of money by not having those European games,” adds Lam, whose own squad has plenty of Welsh interest in the likes of Callum Sheedy and Ioan Lloyd.
‘ #SCAvBRI | #BristolBears pic.twitter.com/I2IeG40uxb
— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) January 21, 2022
“We had already sold a lot of tickets and were going to get a big crowd for that Scarlets match.
“There was the hospitality income and all of the rest of it. We had ordered a lot of food and we didn’t use it, so it all adds up.
“We then lost money on the charter plane we had booked to take us to Paris, that had to be cancelled at the last minute.
“All of these costs that are not seen by people, have an effect.”
While Bristol were grounded, the Scarlets were unable to host Bordeaux-Begles in round two of the tournament, either.
When both clubs finally got their Euro campaigns up and running last week, they had contrasting fortunes.
The Scarlets were thumped 45-10 out in Bordeaux, while Bristol eased to a 28-17 bonus point win at home to Stade, where star of the show was their Llandovery College old boy, scrum-half Harry Randall.
It means Bristol have already booked their place in the last 16 of the tournament, while the Scarlets would need a big win and for other results to go in their favour in order to make the last 16.
“Things are always difficult to judge in the pool stages,” adds Lam.
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT / CYHOEDDIAD TÎM
Here’s our 23 to take on @BristolBears at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday
9️⃣- Change at half-back
Euro debut for Shaun
Ryan on wingDyma ein 23 i wynebu’r Eirth ym Mharc y Scarlets ar Ddydd Sadwrn#SCAvBRI #HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/ZdJ8hZOd7s
— Scarlets Rugby (@scarlets_rugby) January 21, 2022
“We have had more disruption than usual this time, so it’s just about getting to the next stage.
“On Sunday night, when we know the 16 clubs, and what the match-ups are, then we can concentrate on just getting through that and making the last eight.
“It’s no different to most years. It’s about making sure your form is good enough and then picking it up in April or May.”
Lam – the former Samoa captain, who has had coaching success in Scotland, New Zealand and Ireland as well as England – insists he is not paying too much attention to the Scarlets’ setback in the winelands of Stade Jacques Chaban-Delmas a week ago.
“The Scarlets have not had much rugby and Bordeaux is not an easy place to go to,” he says.
“With all the restrictions in place, it has not been ideal. You could see there was rustiness in there, but they have a lot of quality players. A lot of them are now in the Welsh squad, so they are a dangerous team.
“They have a game under their belt and now they have another opportunity this week. They have British Lions and Welsh internationals in their squad. They have more international players than we do, so when they click they will cause a lot of problems for us.”
This was SO first half Bristol.
Minimal need for reverse pass by Sheedy, executes it perfectly anyway, dangerous Dave Atwood does a textbook cheeky dropout.
Bellissimo pic.twitter.com/iRvUm9sdF7
— Rucked Over (@RuckedOver) June 19, 2021
There will be much attention on the Bears’ outside-half Sheedy, with the Six Nations just around the corner, although Dan Biggar’s elevation to captain for the tournament suggests the best Sheedy can hope for at present is a place on the Wales bench ahead of Gareth Anscombe.
For Lloyd – who was overlooked for the Wales squad – it will be a chance to show his versatility at centre and that his sharp handling skills deserve to be recognised.
Scarlets head coach Peel is hopeful that the return of supporters to Parc y Scarlets can provide the inspiration for his team to overcome their erratic form.
Peel says: “Its massive for us. I’m just hoping that the crowd turn up to this weekend and support us because I’m sure they’ve missed it as well.
“We obviously miss having them here and the sense of occasion, so, hopefully, we’ll have a good crowd here.
“It would be great to get a good atmosphere here and I know the boys are relishing that as well.”
S4C – Saturday, 5.15pm: Rygbi Ewrop.
Scarlets v Bristol Bears
Live coverage of the match between Scarlets and Bristol Bears in the Heineken European Champions Cup, from Parc y Scarlets. Kick off 5.30pm.
