Mike Rayer’s magicians can give Bristol the Blues
Mike Rayer’s Blues have yet to confirm their play-off place alongside Bristol, Doncaster and Yorkshire Carnegie, but Richards is convinced they have the firepower to upset the best-laid plans of Andy Robinson’s promotion favourites.
Assessing the main contenders, Richards told The Rugby Paper: “Mikey Rayer’s done a fantastic job and in terms of attacking play, I think they’re the best team in the league.
“If you’re going to beat Bristol it might be through moments of magic and with Myles Dorrian and Jake Sharp as their fly-half options, they’ve got that. Scrum-half Jordan Burns offers real pace off the base and they’ve got a backline to excite.
“They like a cheeky little kick in behind and if I were Bristol, Bedford would be the team I’d most fear playing because they have that unquantifiable X-factor. They would be playing with absolutely no pressure, while Bristol have lots to lose.”
As things stand, fourth-paced Bedford will meet regular season champions Bristol in the semi-finals. But despite his warning shot, Richards expects the latter to finally return to the Premiership after a frustrating seven-year wait.
He explained: “There’s no Worcester this year and Bristol are clear favourites. What showed that to me last weekend, when we played them, was that they made 13 changes and have the squad depth to cope with four hard games in a row.
“Bedford and Doncaster picked up bonus-point wins over Bristol this season, while Leeds pushed them close, but if those other three sides pick up injuries they might struggle because doing it over four games is a different matter.”
Richards reckons Bristol have oceans of class, adding: “X-factor counts for a lot in big games and Jack Lam at openside has been a standout all year. He played against us both times, unfortunately, and he’s so disruptive at the breakdown.
“Matthew Morgan may be leaving at the end of the season but he’s got real X-factor and they’ve got great strike power out wide. Their forward grunt also stands them in good stead and they’ll be really pleased to have Ian Evans back from injury.
“Evans is star quality and having a British Lion in your second-row must give you a lot of confidence. With the likes of Jack O’Connell, Gaston Cortes, Anthony Perenise and Kyle Traynor, they’ve got good props and their set-piece is strong.
“Bristol will be quietly confident but how they cope with the favourites tag and the huge expectation of winning promotion will be interesting.
“But you want them to go up because they’ve got the infrastructure to succeed in the Premiership.”
Shock-troops Doncaster defeated Bristol 29-20 at Ashton Gate and ran Robinson’s men desperately close in losing last month’s re-match 31-29.
Richards said: “Clive Griffiths has done such a good job with them and I’ve been impressed with Doncaster across the year. They are dominant up front and score the majority of tries through forward power, but they play exciting rugby.
“They’ve got some really dangerous backs and Will Hurrell’s a real thorn in everybody’s side, while scrum-half Michael Heaney has a few tricks up his sleeve.
“They certainly won’t be scared of Bristol if they were to meet them in the final.”
Yorkshire Carnegie, with League convert Kevin Sinfield finding his feet, are dark horses who Richards fears may not be attack-minded enough.
He added: “Yorkshire have got the best pack behind Bristol but perhaps rely too heavily on them to produce results. If they can just unlock their backline, which is full of star quality led by Kevin Sinfield, they could be a real threat.
“Sinfield’s a great acquisition and if he kicks his goals and lights up the backline, there’s no doubt that up front they can be a real threat to Bristol.
“They need to play with a bit more risk, though, and they go well when they play Harry Leonard as a second distributor and kicker at 12.
“They’ve got real firepower in Jonah Holmes and Seb Stegmann, with great quality and pace outside, but they need to get them the ball.”
NEALE HARVEY
