• Ep 194: 'Flagging the Shed'. Tales from Gloucester after a disappointing result but an excellent away day experience
    Mar 31 2025

    Miles and Pete break down the humbling defeat at Gloucester by piecing together what they can remember from an excellent away day in the Shed.

    Bristol's defence left a little bit to be desired but fair play to Gloucester as they were on fire and it was an honour to witness once of best no-look offloads in the history of rugby union.

    Despite the heavy defeat, the Bears still remain in second place after this mini block of games but the pack are closing fast. Does the fact that we have shipped 15 tries in two games mean that our play off place may be in jeopardy or will Pat and the boys sort the defence out in time for the visit of Tigers on Easter Sunday?

    We muse on this as well as hearing from fans from both teams both before and after the game.

    Sit back, listen and enjoy our away day travelogue!

    Let us know what you think!

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    47 mins
  • Ep 193 - Bears and Chiefs serve up a try-feast at the Gate as the Prem restarts with a bang
    Mar 23 2025

    We run through the key moments of the 52-38 victory at a pulsating Ashton Gate as the Bears saw off the Chiefs with a disciplined second half display after losing Santi Grondona to a red after 30 minutes.

    The first half however...

    We also briefly look forward to the away fixture at Kingsholm with a game of 'who is most likely to...?' and finish with a short discussion about the merits or otherwise of the proposed plan to introduce dedicated away fan sections. Finally, Miles doffs his tweed cap to the career of Amber Reed who announced her retirement this week.

    All this and more as Pete, Miles and Lee share a cheeky pint and a bit of rugby banter at the Bristol Beer Factory Taproom.

    Let us know what you think!

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    55 mins
  • Ep 192 - Return of the Thack (and others) - Chiefs preview, Womens' semi final review and season card renewal chat
    Mar 17 2025

    We look forward to the return of the Premiership after the long Six Nations hiatus with a little help from Sports Reporter Elgan Alderman from The Times who was the ONLY journalist to tip Bristol for glory at the start of the season. We ask him why he went against the tide of peer opinion and whether he thinks we've still go it in us to go all the way.

    We also review the Bears Woman' semi final loss at Queensholm and ponder over the fact that every single stat apart the final score went in our favor and ask whether we let another chance of glory slip through our fingers.

    Finally we chat about the season ticket renewal announcement and briefly discuss whether the 'new' old news linking Pat to some sort of job with the Wales National team is hot air or something more solid...

    Running order:

    0:00 - 3:00: Intro and update on the state of Lewis' relationship.

    3:00 - 14:20: Review of the Womens' valiant defeat at Queensholm with stats!

    14:20 - 19:40 - Setting the scene for the Premiership restart with a car metaphor.

    19:40 - 24:25: Elgan Alderman from The Times.

    24:25 - 36: 50 - A meandering Chiefs preview including injury return speculation.

    36: 50 - end: Season ticket renewal package and Pat to Wales chat.

    Let us know what you think!

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    52 mins
  • Ep 191- Bears Women special - interview with Dave Ward and Tom Luke plus preview of the semi-final play off at Queensholm
    Feb 23 2025

    This week we focus on the Bears Women's upcoming semi-final play off with Gloucester-Hartpury on Sunday 2nd March at 3pm.

    Not only do we invite a proper dual season ticket holder onto the pod as a special guest but we also have an exclusive and in-depth interview with Dave Ward and Tom Luke. They give us a behind-the scenes deep dive into the season so far as well as their thoughts on how they will plan and prep for the play-off.

    It's a fairly lengthy and interesting chat after which we discuss a few of the issues that it throws up before previewing the game itself and offering our score predictions.

    We finish off by discussing Dave's excellent punditry performance on TNT Sports on Friday night having been warmed up nicely by our interview the day before and then finally sign off for the night.

    It is a bit of a long one again but to help you navigate your way through it here is the running order:

    Introduction:

    Start - 9:10: Pre-amble and a brief chat about the England A game at Ashton Gate

    Dave and Tom interview:

    9:10 - 12:04: Motivations for this season after last year's final defeat

    12:04 - 13:41: How the Women fit into the HPC set-up alongside the Men

    13:41 - 15:26: How Dave and Tom work together

    15:26 - 17: 10: Coaching on match days

    17:10 - 18:55: Shaftesbury Park vs Ashton Gate as home venues

    18: 55 - 20: 28: How they plan and prep for games

    20:28 - 23:00: Managing squad rotation and selection issues

    23:00 - 26:50: New player recruitment pathways

    26:50 - 29:39: Tracking and signing established players

    29:39 - 34:23: How Tom signed Ilona Maher

    34:23 - 37: 36: Dave's thoughts after the Loughborough Lightening defeat

    37: 36 - 39:49: How they will prep for the semi final

    39:49 - 42:14: Messages to the traveling fans

    42: 14 - 45:41: Tom's failed attempt to sign Fury the Gladiator and a vote of thanks

    Post interview:

    45:41 - 55:15: Our thoughts on the chat

    55:15 - 65: 53: Semi-final preview

    65: 53 - 70:15: Score predictions

    70:15 - the end: Dave's punditry trousers



    Let us know what you think!

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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • Ep 190 - Bumper Bears banter is back - play off games, cliches, fans forum, listener questions/comments and an epic rant!
    Feb 17 2025

    The boys are back at the Bristol Beer Factory for yor favourite Bristol rugby lock-in.

    Unashamedly long but to help you out here is the running order:

    • 0 - 6m45s: Intros, beer review, riders and the BBF Quiz night details
    • 6m45s - 22m0s: Bears Women's win at Quins and qualify for play-offs
    • 22m0s - 29m33s: PWR Commentator cliches
    • 29m33s - 30m40s: Instagram followers roll of honour
    • 30m40s - 36m30s: Bears Men beat Bath again but don't qualify for play-offs
    • 36m30 - 44m30s: Post-match Pat and even more Bears chat
    • 44m30s - 55m56s: Wider chat on Prem Cup and Queensland Reds team selections
    • 55m56s - 66m10s: Bears Fan Forum feedback
    • 66m10s - 71m55s: England A, George Kloska and Max Malins
    • 71m55s - the end: Sponsoship woes and an EPIC final rant from Miles

    Let us know what you think!

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    1 hr and 19 mins
  • Ep 189 - Bears Men successfully wing it against Falcons but the Women lose their way at Trailfinders
    Jan 27 2025

    As we head towards the Six Nations break we are sitting pretty in second place in the Prem table on 40 points.

    It might have been a bit of a topsy turvey win against Falcons that we appeared to try and win at least three times, but ultimately we scored 8 tries and pulled away in the final 'quarter'.

    We break down the game in our somewhat cheery and rambly way as well as going off on a few tangents with thoughts on whether we should sign Santi Carreras and whether it was appropriate for the England players to be seen on socials having a jolly on a golf course in Girona when their mates are getting smashed up in England.

    We also have a chat about the Womens' heartbreaking defeat at Trailfinders and wonder whether the 'Bears way' is still a work in progress for them. However, Sale's defeat of Exeter has left the door open for Bristol to sneak into the play-offs as long as they score a maximum 15 points from their last three games. They are back at Shaftesbury Park on Saturday so get youself down there and cheer them on...

    All this and more with Pete, Lee and Miles having a cheeky beer and a bit of rugby banter down at the legendary Bristol Beer Factory Taproom

    Let us know what you think!

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    57 mins
  • Ep 188 - Defeat from the jaws of a draw and Tigers tamed at the Gate
    Jan 19 2025

    You’re listening to Bears Beyond The Gate, a Bristol Bears podcast made by fans for fans. We three regulars at Ashton Gate who love the club, the game and all things Bears.

    This week we look back on two Saturday fixtures with the Women going first with a bonus point victory 43-29 win against Leicester Tigers women at Ashton Gate and the Men managing to snatch defeat from the Jaws of a Draw at the Stade Marcel Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand.

    It was another welcome 5 points for the Women in their quest for a play off semi final but given that they conceded 29 points to a team that were beaten 100 nil last weekend by Saracens, does their defence review definitely fall into the ‘learnings and work-ons’ category. Furthermore, it's our longest and most in-depth review of a Bears' Women game ever!

    As for the Men, it was the second year in a row that they got dumped out of two European cup competitions in one fell swoop albeit in much more courageous circumstances than that dark night in Galway last season. There is no doubt that we were handed an insanely tough group but should we be expecting more and did we get our game management right on the night? The debate rages.

    Finally, we look forward to the visit of Newcastle Falcons next Sunday with all our fingers and toes crossed that we didn’t pick up any more injuries in France. Is five points a non negotiable or will it be a trickier fixture than our respective league positions might suggest.

    Check out Dream XV Rugby by clicking here

    Let us know what you think!

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    59 mins
  • Ep 187 - Bears Men edge the Andy Uren derby and Ilona does a Jonah as the Women beat Chiefs
    Jan 13 2025

    The boys come together at the Bristol Beer Factory after a couple of cheeky pints to review the narrow victory at the Gate aganst Benetton. It was an inconsistent win but with plenty to be postive about despite almost losing at the end.

    Before that though, Miles issues a public apology to the whole Italian nation and we run through a large list of people who we saw at the game.

    We then offer our analysis based on what we could actually remember as well as broadening the discussion to all manner of rugby-related subjects, including the Bears Womens' clinical victory at Sandy Park which saw Ilona Maher score a debut try right out of the Jonah Lomu playbook.

    Finally we have a suprise guest a superfan Simon Stone joins us as he happened to wander past the BBF on his way home.

    Vote for us in the Sorts Podcast Awards!

    https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-rugby-podcast/

    All this and more!


    Let us know what you think!

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    59 mins