Sports

Premiership: Bristol Bears v Bath


England’s Nathan Hughes joined Bristol Bears from Wasps this summer
Gallagher Premiership
Venue: Ashton Gate Date: Friday, 18 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Bristol, BBC Somerset, BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online, plus live text coverage on the BBC Sport website and app.

Friday’s opening game of the new Premiership season is set for a sell-out crowd as Bristol Bears host Bath in a West Country derby at Ashton Gate.

The home side give a league debut to ex-Wasps number eight Nathan Hughes.

The match will be Bath’s former captain Stuart Hooper’s first in the league as their director of rugby, after replacing Todd Blackadder in May.

Hooper has given a first Premiership start to wing Levi Davis, who is starring in ITV’s X Factor Celebrity.

The match at Ashton Gate is expected to see the largest attendance for a sporting fixture since the ground’s redevelopment concluded in 2016.

As rugby does not require the segregation of home and away fans, the 26,399 tickets sold surpasses what has been possible for Championship football team Bristol City, who share the venue with the Bears.

Levi Davis (centre) is joined on X Factor by ex-England man Ben Foden (right) and ex-Scotland man Thom Evans

The Bears’ starting team also includes Kiwi Charles Piutau at full-back, while Samoa back Alapati Leiua and forward Chris Vui are on the bench after returning from the World Cup following Samoa’s exit.

But there is no place in the hosts’ squad for Irish fly-half Ian Madigan.

The visitors named Charlie Ewels as their new club captain in September and the 24-year-old starts in the second row alongside Josh McNally.

Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam told BBC Radio Bristol:

“We have so many players available it is creating headaches around selection, so we’re in a great place.

“The amount of work that’s been put in by the players and staff is tremendous.

“The [atmosphere] goes to another level when every seat is sold. It’s going to make for a wonderful atmosphere.”

Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper told BBC Radio Bristol:

“[Pre-season] has been long but very purposeful. There’s been a lot of great work done by the players and we’re very excited for Friday night.

“With the group of players we’ve got, they want to win things. They go in to this [campaign] thinking ‘we want to win it’.

“The group are hungry, committed and very determined to bring success.”

Bristol Bears: C Piutau; Morahan, O’Conor, Hurrell, Protheroe; Sheedy, Uren; Woolmore, Thacker, Afoa, Attwood, Joyce, Luatua (c), D Thomas, Hughes.

Replacements: Malton, Y Thomas, Lahiff, Vui, Heenan, Randall, Lloyd, Leiua.

Bath: Homer; Brew, Clark, Wright, Davis; Priestland, Chudley; Obano, Dunn, Judge, McNally, Ewels (c), Williams, Ellis, Mercer.

Replacements: Walker, Boyce, Stuart, Stooke, Bayliss, Cook, Burns, Roberts



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