Dave Ward’s broom is sweeping clean. Bristol Bears announce the departure of no fewer than seven players. No reasons are offered.
The one big surprise is Clara Nielson, the only Red Rose the Bears had available all last season; she was their captain too. The other names are Chelsea Jones, Gemma Rowland, Lauren Smyth, Megan Wynne, Serena Settembri and Stef Evans. The only definite news concerns Megan Wynne, who returns to Bath Ladies after a spell on loan at Shaftesbury Park.
The name Stef Evans will ever be associated with the #icare movement that she set up at the start of the year as a counter-whack to the remarkable statement ‘nobody cares’, presumably made by a nobody. She has provided a material difference to the game by creating the company Ruggette RFC, to provide comfortably fitting kit for women.
The presence of Welsh names in the list renews doubts about the future of the vast cohort of Welsh players ‘invited’ to join English clubs by their ever-attentive national union.
We are left wondering where Ward’s scouts will be casting their eyes as they look for reinforcements to the Bears’ playing-strength. Are Quins and Sarries forming a thin red line to protect their troops?
