Bristol Bears vs Newcastle Falcons – Match Preview
Today. Kick-off 3pm, Ashton Gate
Fit-again Noah Heward goes into today’s game against Newcastle eager for a strong finish to the season.
The Bristol full-back/winger is three games into his return from hamstring surgery having returned to the Bears matchday squad against Saracens last month.
He scorched home from 30m in his last weekend’s brave 33-26 defeat at Clermont and relished being among the tries again.
“It’s been a while,” he said referencing the 66th-minute score that got Bristol back on level terms with their French hosts.
“In stadiums like that, you can almost feel the silence as they know you are going to score, which is always a nice feeling – very different to fans screaming at Ashton Gate. It was a great experience at the weekend despite the result.”
Hamstring injuries are the worst kind of injury for a flyer like Heward and it’s the second one of his relatively short career.
The 24-year-old also spent four months on the sidelines with a foot injury in 2021/22, so is no stranger to the treatment room.
Dealing with Injury
Mentally and physically, though, he feels he has coped a lot better this time around.
He said: “It’s been a delayed start to the season for me but it’s put me in probably a good position now, physically, to have a really good finish to the season.
“I had two weeks of full training before I got back to the Sarries game and that was an opportunity to get those (negative) thoughts out of your mind.
“By the time I got on the pitch against Sarries it was not on my mind at all. It is being present in that moment rather than think about what’s been.
“Normally the biggest challenge is being detached from the main group.
“So I was fortunate in a sense that some of my very good friends I was injured with at the same time – Jimmy Williams, Max Malins, Sam Wolstenholme … we spent a lot of time together doing those bits, which was nice to have.
“And different to previous injuries, I now live with my girlfriend so when I get home it was more of a switch-off I wasn’t thinking about rugby all of the time.
“Previously, I’d lived with rugby players and I hadn’t been able to switch off from it.
“Those two things really helped me this time around. Mentally I was in quite a good place while I was out.
“My physical preparation for training sessions and games is slightly different in terms of focus around hamstring and glute activation,” he added.
“Sometimes I’ll drop in and out of the leg warm-up and just do the things that I know I need to do to be ready 100 per cent when we get out on the pitch.”
Falcons Challenge
Now Heward’s mind is firmly focused on the visit of the Falcons, as Bristol look to cement second place in the league going into the near two-month break from league action.
The former England age-grade international played under Falcons boss Steve Diamond at his former club Worcester, so knows what to expect.
“I’ve been coached by Dimes before and I only have good things to say about him,” he said.
“I know the mentality of that team will be to do as much damage physically as possible. We are ready for the challenge and aren’t taking that lightly.
“They will bring that desire and fight and they have some quality in their team, especially in their backline. They’ve still got some dangerous players.
“Alex Hearle, who I played with at Worcester, is an exceptional player in the outside channels who we have got to be aware of.
Now in his third year at Bristol, Heward feels his game has moved on since his Worcester days but recognises there is still plenty of scope for improvement.
“I feel aspects, especially defensively, have improved. I feel like more of a leader on that side of the ball. Equally, I feel I have been here two years and I want to be here a lot longer because I can continue to become a lot better than I am now. That is always in the back of my mind.
“Yes, I have got to this stage but what are the next steps to move forward as well.”
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Teams
BRISTOL: Lane; Heward, Jenkins, Janse van Rensburg, Ravouvou; Byrne, Marmion; Thomas, Oghre, Lahiff, Dun, Owen, Grondona, Harding (c), Mata
Replacements: Capon, Woolmore, Kloska, Luatua, Heenan, Wolstenholme, Elizalde, Bailey
NEWCASTLE: Obatoyinbo; Pepper, Hearle, Clark, Stevenson; Connon, Stuart; Brocklebank, Blamire, McCallum, de Chaves, McDonald, van der Walt, Lockwood, Chick (c)
Replacements: Fletcher, Rewcastle, de Bruin, Hawkins, Leatherbarrow, Davis, Wilkinson, Spencer
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
