Bristol Bears

Bristol Shoguns are the first class rugby club in Bristol, England.

The club is one of the rugby union clubs in England, and has, over the years, produced some of the most famous players in the game, relying in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region. Significant players have included TJ Richards, who played for both the British Isles and Australia, Sam Tucker, John Blake, John Pullin and Alan Morley. In the professional era several international stars have played for Bristol, including Argentina's Agustin Pichot and Felipe Contepomi, and double World Cup winner Jason Little.

History

Bristol Football Club was formed in 1888 when the ambitious Carlton club merged with rival club Redland Park to create a united Bristol team. Westbury Park having refused to merge then folded and many of its players subsequently joined Bristol. The County Cricket Ground at Nevil Road was leased for home matches.

The first match was a heavy away defeat to Cardiff and although the first season was relatively successful the second was not with only three games won. The club went from strength to strength over the next few years under the captaincy of W. Tommy Thomson. It turned the corner and in 1891 - 92, now wearing the more familiar navy and white hooped shirts, the Bristol team won twenty games out of twenty four.

Over the ensuing seasons the fixture list went from strength to strength, consisting of most of the top English and Welsh sides. In 1900 J. W. Jarman became Bristol's first England cap. Two major touring sides played Bristol during this period. The first New Zealand All Blacks defeated the club 41 - 0 in 1905 and in 1909 a combined Bristol and Clifton team lost to Australia.

The club was beginning to bring on a new generation of players when the First World War halted all rugby. After the war a Bristol United side was formed to provide rugby for returning servicemen and this led to the rebirth of Bristol in 1919. The County Ground was no longer available for home games so the club rented a field at Radnor Road, Horfield although occasional matches were staged at the Bristol City and Bristol Rovers grounds. The Radnor Road seasons were good ones for the club and a new crop of stars appeared.

Bristol's current home is the Memorial Ground, a stadium built in 1921 to remember the war dead of the city. If the club are at home on Remembrance weekend, then a minute's silence is observed. Soccer club Bristol Rovers also use the ground. Bristol defeated Cardiff 19 - 3 in the opening match.

The fiftieth anniversary was celebrated in 1938 but the next few years saw a fall in performances and the final inter-war season was a poor one. During World War Two a Bristol Supporters team kept rugby union going in the city. Thus Bristol had readily available players when peacetime rugby union resumed in 1945.

The playing record in the early fifties was mixed, but there was a huge improvement under the captaincy of first Bert MacDonald, and then Dick Hawkes. Records were broken in 1956 - 57 and even better was to follow in what has been called 'The Blake Era'.

Fly half John Blake became captain in 1957 and under his leadership the club developed an entertaining running style of rugby involving backs and forwards, which was years ahead of its time. The Bristol club set and broke new records for wins in a season and points scored and goal kicking forward Gordon Cripps rewrote the individual points scoring records.

The 75th anniversary was celebrated in 1962-63 and floodlights were installed in the following season. Club form peaked in 1965-66 under Derek Neate's captaincy when 39 games were won, and again in 1971 - 72 under Tony Nicholls. This was the club's best ever season with a thousand points being scored for the first time and the team being crowned unofficial English and English-Welsh champions.

Under Mike Rafter's captaincy, the club won the John Player Cup in 1983, defeating Leicester 28-22. During this period Alan Morley established a world record of 479 tries in senior rugby. The centenary season with Nigel Pomphrey as captain was celebrated in style with a game against the Barbarians and a narrow defeat in the cup final, but thereafter there was a gradual decline in playing standards. The team did not really adapt well to the demands of league rugby and the club's administrators struggled to cope with the professional set up.

Relegation to Premiership Two in 1998 was not the worst of Bristol's problems. Only an eleventh hour rescue by Malcolm Pearce saved the club from potential oblivion. Bristol's first season outside the top flight brought with it a number of first-time visits to clubs. Bristol went on to win the Championship and promotion back to Premiership One, sealing the win with a 22-11 victory over Worcester.

The World Cup disrupted the early part of the season, with Henry Honiball (South Africa), Agustin Pichot and Eduardo Simone (Argentina), Garath Archer (England), Jamie Mayer (Scotland), Al Charron (Canada) and Pablo Lemoine (Uruguay) all missing the first few games. Under the captaincy of Dean Ryan the team played some of the most entertaining rugby seen at the Memorial Stadium. There were thrilling victories over Saracens, a late winner away at Northampton and a breath taking 31-31 draw with Bath. The team eventually finished sixth, just missing out on European Cup qualification.

During the close season, Dean Ryan took over as Head Coach from Bob Dwyer, and new signings included, Ben Sturnham from Bath, Leigh Davies from Cardiff and Neil McCarthy from Gloucester. After an opening day victory over newly promoted Rotherham, Bristol had a disappointing 2000/01 season finishing ninth. The team lost their first three Premiership games before turning their season around with a run of ten home matches without defeat, including wins over champions Leicester Tigers, and West Country rivals Bath. The turning point coincided with the arrival of Argentine international fly-half, Felipe Contepomi who started to forge an unstoppable half-back partnership with countryman, Agustin Pichot. Off the field, [[Jack Rowell] became Managing Director, successful community initiatives saw the attendance figures rise.

The 2001/02 season brought a new name, Bristol Shoguns, thanks to the record breaking five-year £2 million sponsorship deal with motoring giants Mitsubishi Motors. The team also saw the arrival of some of the game's most promising young talent, as well experienced internationals Julian White and double world cup winning centre, Jason Little. Despite a mixed start, supporters at the Memorial Stadium witnessed some breathtaking rugby during the second half of the season. With the Shoguns finishing the season with the most bonus points in the Zurich Premiership, three players in the top try scorers chart, a place at Twickenham in the final of the Zurich Championship, and also a place in the Heineken Cup for the 2002/03 season.

An inconsistent run of results was broken when more than 10,000 turned up at the Memorial Stadium to watch the West Country derby with Bath in November. The Shoguns put on a magical display to bring the record crowd to its feet in the 31-17 win. One of the key turning points of the season was the arrival of former All Blacks selector Peter Thorburn. The ex-North Harbour coach joined in late February for the remainder of the season. His fresh input coupled with the experience of Dean Ryan and his coaching team helped bring out the best in the Shoguns. In the remaining fixtures the Shoguns started to open up defences and put the points on the board, including 47 against Sale Sharks, 40 against Gloucester and 38 against recently crowned champions Leicester Tigers. The great run of results led to the Shoguns securing a top eight finish and a place in the quarter-final of the Zurich Championship at Welford Road with qualification for the lucrative Heineken Cup up for grabs. The Shoguns didn't disappoint in the Zurich Championship when they demolished the Tigers 27-13 in the quarter-final and then Northampton Saints 32-24 in the semi-final.

The 2002-3 season was greeted with huge excitement by the Bristol Shoguns faithful. Several months later, the club would be staring at oblivion. The cracks started to appear in the close season. Head Coach Dean Ryan moved to Gloucester, Jack Rowell resigned as Director of Rugby whilst skipper Jason Little retired. Peter Thorburn took over as coach and claimed that the team were several weeks behind in their preseason preparations. The team lost their opening four Zurich Premiership fixtures. An amazing 14 man win over Leicester was followed by a first foray into the Heineken Cup and a superb, televised win over Montferrand was the highlight. League form was mixed but there were more wins than defeats including a momentous first league win at Bath. But Christmas saw a bombshell, owner Malcolm Pearce announced that he would quit at the end of the season. Bristol were relegated at the end of the season.

In 2003 with Bristol at rock bottom Martin Haag and a week later Richard Hill joined as first team coach and head coach respectively. While the board were raising money to stabilise the club Haag and Hill implemented a '3 year plan' to rebuild Bristol. They were promoted back to the Zurich Premiership in 2005 after winning National League One in style.

Club Honours

• John Player Cup 1983

Famous players

• Felipe Contepomi
• Agustin Pichot
• Mark Regan

External links

• Official site