Bears Beyond The Gate

Just like the BBC, the pod is here to inform, educate and entertain so we were delighted to chat with Rob Graham from the Rosbifs Rugby pod about all things Pau.

He gives us an insight into this less fashionble club from the foot of the Pyrenees and predicts how they might shape up at Ashton Gate on Sunday.

We also hear from Mark and Cameron from the Bears Supporters Advisory Committee who give us an update on their successes so far ...

In this episode we review the game against Scarlets. It looked like we were cruising at 12-0 up with more points to come but the home side had other ideas and put in a proper shift to take us to the wire.

We discuss the reasons why this might have happened as well as hear the thoughts of some listeners. 

Equally as importantly the game marked the first BBTG road trip of the season so we also review activities that took place off the ...

The lads jump on Zoom to speculate on the team for Saints this coming Saturday now that the Autumn International break is over. 

Which returning players will feature?

Have we succesfullly reduced our Guinness world record breaking injury list to more manageable levels?

Is the officiating team for the weekend more akin to watching a mash up of Last of the Summer Wine and Monarch of the Glen?

And will we win?

All this and not a lot more a...

It was a derby day to remember and although it didn't go our way for us, the effort was there. 

Pete, Lee and Miles ‘deep dive’ into the heated clash with them down the road, where the Bears battled hard, created big moments, but ultimately found that Bath were just that little bit better on the day.

🔥 Key Talking Points:

• Early impact & momentum:

From the off, the Bears looked fired up: a charge-down leading to a try...

This week we go over Friday night’s 7-try, 49-point dismantling of Gloucester under the lights and in front of the baying crowd at Kingsholm. We regained the Rifles Cup with another warrior-like performance of grit and graft but also sprinkled some fantastic handling and offloading. Despite our injury woes if felt a bit like the Bears Way in its full glory.

Not only did the frenetic nature of the game help last minute loanee and for...

Pete, Miles and Lee pick through the narrow win against the Chiefs as well as previewing the upcoming fixture against Gloucester with help from Ed Price from the Cherry Jam fan pod.

There is also the usual excellent contributions from listeners and a bonus section on Bennard Janse Van Rensburg's post match interivew with Clare Thomas.

Finally, we finsh off with a big, big Goat, an update on the work of the Supporters Advisory Co...

The five key takeaways from the pod this week after a few cheeky beers and bit of rugby banter…

1. Bears suffered an "absolute shellacking," losing 50-17 after falling 31-0 down by halftime, though the lads accept that Saracens' performance was "outstanding" and they probably would have beaten any team in the league it was that good.

2. The Bears just couldn’t convert any of pressure that they did create stru...

We chew over the opening day bonus point victory from the Media Conference Room at Ashton Gate. We were the only ones in it mind but it was still quite exciting nonetheless.

A shaky first half, where Tigers did a 'Radwan' on us, subsequently developed into a comfortable victory as the intensity increased, the pack took control and Prem debutant Tom Jordan ran the show.

The atmopshere at the stadium was excellent as the Bris...

Pod friend James Dun makes his second appearance live from the BBF Taproom to tell us how pre-season has gone, talk us through how the boys will prep for the game during the week and even make some of his own suggestions for ramping up the atmosphere at the Gate, in particular searching for George Kloska look-a-likies in the crowd...

As always, we appreciate his time and it's good to see the 'fourth mic' getting some ...

Having reached a double ton at the end of last season wth the help of emerging club and Instagram legend James Dun, the boys road-test their brand new crowd funded recording equipment at the BBF Taproom Studio Bar for the season seven opener with Bears CEO Tom Tainton, who, lets be honest, was well impressed with the set up and admtted that he had never done a pod in a lock-in before.

The boys asked him briefly about his journey to ...

Running order:

00.00 - 14.30: Re-living the semi at the Rec

14.30 - 18.40: Back to the start of the season and the focus on cohesion

18:40 - 25.45: Pronouncing Ravouvou, thoughts on Rubiolo and gym strength

25.45 - 30.45: Integrating the Internationals

30.45 - 41.00: Lee's list of positives, centurion or not centurion and Wooley tribute

41.00 - 52.30: European campaign, man love for BJVR and the Clermont cauldron

52.30 - 70.07: Quick...

After being 'super-excited' for the game on Friday and reaching high peaks of excitement at half time we talk about the glorious defeat to them down the road in the play off semi final at the Rec.

It was everything we had hoped for bar the final score but just like that, the season was over.

Having spent the afternoon at the cricket, and with the 200th episode looming, we decide to do a 'half pod' instead.

We talk ...

In this week's episode we re-live a fantastic day down the Gate when the Bears secured their first play off berth in four years with a resounding 52-26 victory over Quins. The Bears Way was on display in its full roller-coaster splendour although to be fair they weathered a small storm in the second half and then powered to the finish line, much to the frenzied delight of the majority of the 20,000 fans in the stadium (minus t...

It's been a long time coming and it has divided opinion, but Saturday saw 51,000 spectators descend on Cardiff for the Big Day out at the World's premier rugby stadium. We review both the pre-match atmosphere, the game itself and what we can take forward to the tough away game at Sale. It is customary to mention Enya at this juncture but we need to put lazy puns aside and focus on the task ahead. 

Bears got the 5 points th...

You’re listening to Bears Beyond The Gate episode 196. Yes 196.

We’re three fans who love the club, the game and all things Bears.

Each episode we talk about the game that’s gone, the game that’s coming up and anything else that takes our fancy as long as it is vaguely Bears related. We try to be as balanced as possible but ultimately we are trying to reflect the views and opinions of paying punters from all ages, backgrounds and dem...

Only a couple of hours after the end of the disappointing defeat against Tigers we knock out a pod.

It's raw and a bit unstructured and involves a long discussion about how many more fortress metaphors we can realistically use before just giving up and accepting that we're never going to win lots of home games in a row.

Supporting Bristol continues to be like riding a roller-coaster but today it felt like we were more at Pe...