'Bristol Bears is one of the best environments I have been involved with' says Ben Earl

When Pat Lam brought Ben Earl and Max Malins to Bristol Bears on loan some questioned the sense of developing Saracens’ players for just a year only to send them back.

As has happened the Bristol Bears have already done very well out of the deal, getting both players for a season and a half due to the the 2019/20 season being postponed for five months due to the Covid-19 pandemic on to restart in August after they arrived at the club for what should have been pre-season in any other year.

But right from the off Lam said he jumped at the opportunity to have two players of their quality for however long he could get them. Raising the standard is what the former Samoan international is all about.

The Bears’ run to lift the European Challenge Cup proved exactly why the Bristol director of rugby was so keen to sign them.

Full back Malins was man of the match as the Bears beat Bordeaux Begles 37-20 in the semi-final of the competition while his flatmate Ben Earl walked off with the same award from the 32-19 victory over Toulon at the Stade Maurice-David in the final on Friday night.

Marins scored another outstanding individual try to put Bristol in front against the French Top 14 side in the second half while Earl bounced back from being outplayed by his England rival Jack Willis in the 47-24 defeat to Wasps in the Gallagher Premiership semi-final last weekend, to dominate in Aix-en-Provence and thoroughly outplay French national caption Charles Ollivon and former Italy skipper Sergie Parisse. As scalps go those are not bad.

His tenacity at the breakdown and in defence were infectious.

Speaking after the game, Earl said: “It is unbelievable.

“This is one of the first trophies this club has won in, I don’t know in how long.  We spoke about the importance of the community before the game and delivering for them.

“How good we were out there, so calm and controlled even when we were behind, is because we trusted the system.”

While the Bears’ flashy attacking play will once again be the toast of the town having scored the quickest try in European final history by touching down through Harry Randall after just 15 seconds, straight from kick-off; it was their defence, led by Earl and Dan Thomas which won the game.

Earl said: “I think the defence tonight just shows the character of the team. We have had a bit of a tough journey together since lockdown. We have had some highs and some huge lows like last weekend [the Wasps defeat].

“The mood in the camp on Monday morning after that Wasps defeat was very low and it took a lot to bounce back so I am just so happy for the club, the community and the boys.”

Earl explained that once Bristol did psychologically recover from the defeat ti Wasps there was just a winning energy amongst the players heading into the European final. He said: “There was just a knowledge and confidence we were going to get the job done. Toulon are a class outfit but there was just a feeling in that group and you could feel it from the start of the day. We built things up emotionally and we are just so happy.

The 22-year-old flanker, who played at number eight on Friday night with Nathan Hughes missing the game with a rib injury, is now expected to link up with the England squad for much of the next four months. And he will do so as an even better player than when he arrived at Bristol in July.

Earl said: “I can’t speak highly enough of Pat Lam. He has challenged me, he has challenged the boys who have come in, the boys who have been here to keep getting better. “The system he has put in place, the culture he has put in place, you won’t experience it until you come in and spend some time with the boys and realise how close everyone is with each other.

“I can safely say it is one of the best environments I have ever been involved in.”