Top four finish is our goal – Randall
HARRY Randall feels Bristol Bears can go one step further this year and secure a play-off place which may put the scrum-half into the fold for further England honours.
Randall, 26, was a standout performer in Bristol‘s opening night 24-3 victory at Newcastle Falcons, earning plaudits for his electric tap and go’s and game management.
However, Bristol’s forwards were making a mess of the breakdown failing to give Randall clean ball and the nine-time England No. 9 hopes they can touch up that area to provide him with a better platform to work with.
He said: “The breakdown wasn’t the cleanest and it’s something we’ve reviewed to work on. Hopefully we can put that right in future weeks. Things weren’t going for us in the first half and credit to the messages we got at half time from players and coaches, saying there’s nothing we had to worry about or change necessarily, we just needed to knuckle down. We scored early in the second half which put us at ease.
“We’ve been working on playing at speed and if we can get that breakdown right it’ll allow us to play at a high pace utilising our quick ball. When we got it right on Friday it really caused problems for them.
“After a short preseason, it was great to be back into the season feeling good after getting up and running with a valuable win up at Newcastle.”
Bristol made it seven victories from their last eight, carrying momentum from last season into the opening round.
Pat Lam’s side finished just short of a play-off place despite a miraculous turnaround in the second half of last term and Randall feels they are in a good position to return to the play-offs for the first time since their ‘Bristanbul’ semi-final loss to Harlequins in 2020/21.
He added: “We’ve certainly spoke about taking the momentum from last season into this. We’ve been very focused on doing that and hopefully, the momentum can remain with us to build through the season.
“We’re confident of reaching the top four as that’s what we’re aiming for this season. The belief among the staff and players is there, it’s about building on the progress we’ve made. It’s a long old season, so it’s all about timing and staying on top of things. We’re progressing nicely and hopefully we can finish in the top four.”
Randall’s last England cap was off the bench against Japan in June when he scored a try in an emphatic 52-17 victory.
His international career has been stop-start since making his debut in 2021 against USA as the following campaign was disrupted with injuries after injuring his hip flexor during a paddle-boarding team bonding exercise and then suffering an ankle injury before the Six Nations.
The following season saw limited minutes for club and country due to a hamstring injury which has since allowed the likes of Jack van Poortvliet, Ben Spencer and current number one choice Alex Mitchell to be ahead of Randall in Steve Borthwick‘s scrum-half pecking order.
Nevertheless, Randall is still chasing international selection and will hope to remain injury free this term to put himself back in the shop window for Borthwick’s attention.
“I don’t like to look too far ahead of myself,” said Randall. “Of course I want to play for England, that’s everyone’s dream to play internationally as many times as they can. There’s some great English scrum-halves in the Premiership, so my best opportunity to do that is through performing week in and week out in the Premiership for Bristol.”
Fellow England international Ellis Genge committed his future to Bristol by signing a new long-term contract to remain at Ashton Gate after returning to his boyhood club in 2022 following a stint with Leicester Tigers.
Randall, who has been at Bristol since 2018, said: “Gengey signing is a great message not just for us but for the supporters as well. We want home-grown players. He went away for a little bit but has led by example since coming back and everyone wants him here. I’m delighted for him to be staying.”
