Bristol Bears vs London Irish Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Bristol Bears vs London Irish taking place? Bristol Bears vs London Irish will take place on Friday 11th February, 2022 at 19:45 (UK)
Where is Bristol Bears vs London Irish taking place? Bristol Bears vs London Irish will take place at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol
Where can I get tickets for Bristol Bears vs London Irish? Ticket information for Bristol Bears vs London Irish can be found on each side’s official website
What TV channel is Bristol Bears vs London Irish on in the UK? Bristol Bears vs London Irish will not be televised live in the UK
Where can I stream Bristol Bears vs London Irish in the UK? Bristol Bears vs London Irish cannot be streamed live in the UK
THE TEAM NEWS
Bristol Bears: 15 Henry Purdy, 14 Siva Naulago, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 Piers O’Conor, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Tom Whiteley, 8 Fitz Harding, 7 Sam Jeffries, 6 Steven Luatua (c), 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Chris Vui, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Yann Thomas
Replacements: 16 Jake Kerr, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Ashley Challenger, 19 John Hawkins, 20 Jake Heenan, 21 Theo Strang, 22 Tiff Eden, 23 Antoine Frisch
London Irish: 15 Henry Arundell, 14 James Stokes, 13 Benhard van Rensburg, 12 Terrence Hepetema, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Nick Phipps (c), 8 Sean O’Brien, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke
Replacements: 16 Mike Willemse, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 George Nott, 20 Tom Pearson, 21 Hugh O’Sullivan, 22 Curtis Rona, 23 Kyle Rowe
THE PREDICTION
Bristol Bears romped to victory at home to Newcastle Falcons last Saturday in an encouraging 37-21 performance that makes it four wins in a row now across all competitions. Their torrid start to the season means the play-offs still look a way off but they should find more fortune here at home to London Irish, who have gone off the boil a little themselves. The Exiles lost 24-7 away at Gloucester last Friday to make it three defeats in their last five across all competitions, although wins at home to Edinburgh in the Challenge Cup and Exeter in the Premiership are still impressive. Each of those defeats came on their travels, though, and taking Bristol to cover a cautious -4 looks reasonable here.
