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33 players have extended their contracts at Bristol Bears
Bristol have celebrated the impending restart of the Gallagher Premiership by announcing that 33 players at the club marshalled by Pat Lam have extended their contracts ahead of the 2019/20 season restart versus Saracens this Saturday.
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Key players including skipper Steven Luatua, Charles Piutau, Nathan Hughes, Chris Vui, Luke Morahan and Kyle Sinckler – alongside homegrown players Andy Uren, Joe Joyce and Callum Sheedy – have all agreed to extended terms.
Bristol return to league action at Ashton Gate sitting third in the table with nine rounds left to play – and director of rugby Lam says the extensions are a testament to the culture that now exists at the club.
“I said from day one at the club that a key part to building a successful legacy will be recruitment and then retention of our key people. Players who want to go on to play over 200 games for the Bears and drive our game, our leadership and the Bears way for the next generation to come,” said Lam.
“Having players develop into quality men who can lead themselves and then positively influence others in our environment and community is vital to our success. To offer 33 contracts and have 33 accepted is a massive boost to everyone at Bristol Bears. The contract details differ from player to player with flexibility on both sides to allow for what is best for both the player and for the club each year going forward.
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🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻3⃣3⃣ 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 ✍️ pic.twitter.com/UJgUhzgrD8
— Bristol Bears 🐻 (@BristolBears) August 14, 2020
“It means that we are able to continue to plan long-term at the Bears, knowing that the squad are committed to bringing success to the club as we progress on this incredible journey. I’m personally delighted that I will have the opportunity to continue working together with some of them into their fourth, fifth and sixth season at the Bears.
“It’s an exciting time for everybody involved, with our new world-class Bears high performance centre adding to the quality of our work on and off the field. The squad have absolute clarity from the Lansdown family and the senior leadership about what we want to achieve and it’s fantastic to see them drive that ambition.
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“With the season resumption against the reigning champions on Saturday, this news is a real boost to the players, staff and to our unbelievable community who have backed us throughout this challenging period.”
BRISTOL BEARS’ 33 EXTENDED PLAYER CONTRACTS
1. Jake Woolmore
2. Yann Thomas
3. Harry Thacker
4. Will Capon
5. Bryan Byrne
6. Kyle Sinckler
7. John Afoa
8. Max Lahiff
9. Jake Armstrong
10. Dave Attwood
11. Ed Holmes
12. John Hawkins
13. Chris Vui
14. Joe Joyce
15. Steven Luatua
16. James Dun
17. Dan Thomas
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18. Jake Heenan
19. Nathan Hughes
20. Mitch Eadie
21. Andy Uren
22. Harry Randall
23. Callum Sheedy
24. Tiff Eden
25. Siale Piutau
26. Sam Bedlow
27. Piers O’Conor
28. Siva Naulago
29. Alapati Leiua
30. Luke Morahan
31. Charles Piutau
32. Henry Purdy
33. Toby Fricker
'We have the best training centre in the country and that is not bragging, that is just factual'@BristolBears CEO Mark Tainton on their new training centre, ring-fencing, Lam, Radradra & how a clean-out of players in 2017 was needed, writes @heagneyl https://t.co/fsHrkGupXc
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 12, 2020
