The West Country comes to Twickenham

Played for both
By Duncan Wood
June 7 2002

Bristol vs Gloucester clashes are always massive and this one will be extra special. Never before have the two sides met in a major final. Both teams are in form so expect a great game and a great atmosphere.

This season's record of played 3, lost 3 does not bode particularly well for Saturday!

We took a bit of a thumping up at Kingsholm after we'd been reduced to 14 men following the sending off of Garath Archer. We were also hampered by the sinbinning of Julian White.

The cup tie in December was shaping up to be a classic. 23 all with 10 minutes to go until Steve Lander and Brian Campsall produced a joint howler which awarded a "try" to Jamie Forrester when his grounding of the ball was suspect to say the least. The game went Gloucester's way.

The most recent meeting was the league fixture back in April when Bristol were distinctly under strength due to injuries particularly up front when Neil McCarthy, Paul Johnstone and Andrew Sheridan had to limp out of the action. The Gloucester forwards overpowered us after that.

Both teams have been playing some really good stuff since that point and have both clinched their Heineken Cup places for next season. Bristol will enter the game with some confidence having beaten Leicester at Welford Road and Northampton at home.

They are also relatively injury free with Dean Ryan confirming this week that only Andrew Higgins will be unavailable for selection. Deano remarked rather mischievously that it was amazing what a Twickenham final could do to an injury list!

I think that the battle up front will be key. If Bristol can match the forwards in the scrum and the maul, then it's a level playing field. The Bristol lineout is going well and Alex Brown is always capable of stealing a few on the other team's throw.

The Bristol pack will also have to be on their best behaviour because Ludovic Mercier has a cannon of a boot. If they transgress, he will either drive them back huge distances or kick the goals from anywhere inside the Bristol half and possibly further.

It has been suggested in some parts of the media that Bristol will relax slightly having clinched the Heineken Cup place. The suggestion is that it's a big day out but nothing more than a bonus for the players and supporters. Well, the message from the Bristol camp is that they're in it to win it and not just there to make up the numbers.

ZURICH CHAMPIONSHIP STATS:

LEADING POINTS SCORERS
Player Team Points
Felipe Contepomi Bristol Shoguns 44
Ludovic Mercier Gloucester 34
Paul Grayson Northampton Saints 27
Charlie Hodgson Sale Sharks 24

There were 9 tries in the Zurich Championship Semi Finals.
(Statistics from SFMS Ltd)

Did You Know?

* Contepomi's feat of scoring all Bristol's 32 points ties the all-time senior rugby record for the most points scored by an individual scoring ALL his sides points, previously held by Dave Walder for Newcastle v Saracens in the Zurich Premiership on 26 November 2000.

* Contepomi is the highest try-scoring half back in the Zurich Premiership.

* Only one team managed an away victory last year - Bath at Wasps in the semi-finals. This year half the matches have been won by away sides.

* 331 points and 37 tries have already been scored in this season's Zurich Championship. In last year's quarter-final and semi-final rounds, 245 points and 29 tries were scored.

* Paul Grayson is the top points scorer in the history of the Zurich Championship with 45 points in 4 appearances. The two respective kickers from this year's final are in 2nd and 3rd place - Felipe Contepomi has 44 points and Ludovic Mercier 34 points.

* Both finalists have played in four other finals at Twickenham:

Gloucester - winning twice in 1972 (Moseley) & 1978 (Leicester), drawing once in 1982 (Moseley) and losing to Bath on their most recent appearance in 1990.

Bristol Shoguns - winning once 1983 (Leicester), and losing three 1973 (Coventry), 1984 (Bath) and 1988 (Harlequins).

The final word goes to Jason Little:

"I think everyone in this part of the country wanted a west country derby final because it adds that little extra spark to a Twickenham Final. The final itself is a tremendous experience, but for it to be an all west country affair is wonderful."

"They (Gloucester) made big strides towards the end of the season. They are traditionally strong up front and I don't think that will change because they were very good on the three occasions that they have played us."

Bristol Shoguns vs Gloucester
Sat 08 Jun, at Twickenham - KO 15:00

Results Summary between 1987 and 2002
Played 22
Bristol Won 8 - 36.4%
Gloucester Won 13 - 59.1%
Drawn 1 - 4.5%

TEAM GREATS
Biggest Win for Bristol, 24 - 6, 26 Mar 1994
Biggest Win for Gloucester, 51 - 17, 10 Nov 2001

PLAYER GREATS
Bristol top try scorer vs Gloucester, Barry Williams, 2 tries
Bristol top points scorer vs Gloucester, Mark Tainton, 63 points
Gloucester top try scorer vs Bristol, Junior Paramore, 3 tries
Gloucester top points scorer vs Bristol, Simon Mannix, 64 points

LAST MEETINGS

21 Apr 2002, Bristol vs Gloucester, 40 - 41, Memorial Stadium
10 Nov 2001, Bristol vs Gloucester, 17 - 51, Kingsholm
06 Jan 2001, Bristol vs Gloucester, 18 - 9, Memorial Stadium
30 Sep 2000, Bristol vs Gloucester, 16 - 38, Kingsholm
22 Jan 2000, Bristol vs Gloucester, 23 - 29, Kingsholm
04 Dec 1999, Bristol vs Gloucester, 25 - 38, Memorial Stadium
18 Jan 1998, Bristol vs Gloucester, 13 - 14, Memorial Stadium
23 Aug 1997, Bristol vs Gloucester, 13 - 35, Kingsholm
26 Apr 1997, Bristol vs Gloucester, 20 - 20, Kingsholm
18 Feb 1997, Bristol vs Gloucester, 18 - 13, Memorial Stadium