Timely article in The Times on what twelve million squid gets you in a training facility. The indoor space is key, which seems to be what Pilleyfoot might be lacking. Of course we could just put an Oyston-style Portakabin next to a dog turd-strewn, overgrown pitch, which is what some people seem to think is acceptable. After all, how could Leicester City, Bristol Bears, Simon Sadler and Neil Critchley possibly know more than some rando on AVFTT?
Turmeric, giant bean bags and ‘love’ – inside Bristol Bears’ £12m training base
Club’s enviable, world-class High Performance Centre underscores their desire to be considered among the leading teams in Europe, not simply the Premiership
Sinckler, the England prop, works out in Bristol’s state-of-the-art gym. “The owner put no limitations on us when we were building that,” says Kevin Geary, the club’s head of strength and conditioning
ROGAN THOMSON/JMP
Rugby clubs usually have a fairly standard set of requirements when they look for a new director of rugby: the CV of a hopeful candidate should include a proven leadership record, a clearly defined playing style and plenty of experience in recruiting high-quality players. What is not usually mentioned in the job spec is a flair for architecture and an eye for grand designs. Since arriving at Bristol Bears four years ago, however, Pat Lam has not only been building a squad capable of competing at the top of the Gallagher Premiership, he has been laying the foundations for the club’s long-term future by overseeing the development of their new High Performance Centre in Abbots Leigh, five miles west of the city centre.
Players such as Kyle Sinckler, Semi Radradra and Harry Randall now spend their working days at a sleek, futuristic, two-storey wood-panelled building, complete with adjoining indoor training barn and two outdoor pitches, nestling behind trees on a hill looking down towards the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Lam cannot claim credit for choosing the panelling or applying the paintwork, but he was passionately committed to ensuring the facility helped nurture the standards of professionalism he was trying to instil, the expansive style he wanted to play and the working environment — “a culture based on love” — that he was striving to create.
“It was all just land when I got here, the building hadn’t started,” Lam said. “I saw the plans, I came to the site and I arrived just in time to influence the plans. I was able to talk to the architects. Fair play to Chris [Booy, the chairman] and Steve [Lansdown, the owner] for giving me that opportunity.”
The Bears have been in their £12 million training ground for just over a year, having relocated from their makeshift base at Clifton Rugby Club, and the players and staff believe it is no coincidence that the team made such huge strides last season, finishing top of the Premiership table for the first time. This season has started with three defeats in their first four games, but the new base is designed to keep them towards the top of the English game in the longer term.
Lam, the director of rugby, left no detail unattended when designing the facility in Abbots Leigh
ROGAN THOMSON/JMP
Upgrading training facilities is on the agenda for a number of clubs. Wasps recently moved to a new facility at Henley-in-Arden, Gloucester are building a base next to Kingsholm and Sale Sharks moved next door from their previous quarters in Carrington to Manchester City’s former training ground. The recent investment into Saracens, meanwhile, came with the intention to build a new training hub. But a new standard has clearly been set by Bristol, who have been a steadily rising force in the Premiership since they were promoted in 2017-18, Lam’s first season, and are now seeking to entrench themselves among the country’s leading clubs.
The first thing that Lam sought to do after he cast eyes on the plans was to change the name. “It was originally down as the Bears’ Training Ground, but I asked Steve Lansdown if we could change it to High Performance Centre,” Lam said. “I’m constantly saying to the guys that this isn’t a normal rugby club, you have to earn the right to be here. We’re all judged on our performance. If I don’t do a good job, I’m gone, so I wanted to make sure we had the facilities to aid high performance. The old place worked fine, but at times we were running through mud, there were lumps and bumps everywhere and we couldn’t train. The two hybrid pitches we’ve got here now are world class, and identical to our home ground at Ashton Gate.
“The changing rooms were originally split into four parts, I said I wanted that to be one big one, like American sports, that’s the hub of the players’ connections. I pushed hard for the barn, too. At the old place, the take-up for extra skills sessions at 7.15am was great when it was sunny, not so great when it wasn’t. It’s much better now we’ve got the barn. The whole facility was geared towards the programme and how we run things, rather than just taking over a building and making it work.”
The squad take advantage of the indoor training barn
Rugby clubs usually have a fairly standard set of requirements when they look for a new director of rugby: the CV of a hopeful candidate should include a proven
www.thetimes.co.uk
Sister Betty was my form teacher, although she had other names. I was in same class as Norman Saxon (how to confuse a kid in history) who had an older brother I think.
