All things Bristol Bears

[RedM]

5 minutes ago, Dylan said:

You're not the only one not going as the stadium looks empty

Is this because it's not a league match and the ticket prices to high

Only Lansdown and South Stand open, so cameras are showing an empty Dolman, but it does look bare. Tickets were £10 I think, and kids £1, so not high.

[When the river runs]

2 minutes ago, RedM said:

Only Lansdown and South Stand open, so cameras are showing an empty Dolman, but it does look bare. Tickets were £10 I think, and kids £1, so not high.

Fair play , that's a reasonable price then.

Must be because of the mickey mouse cup that there isn't a lot more, Or that they are not opening the dolman for this reason.

 

[Portland Bill]

37 minutes ago, RedM said:

Only Lansdown and South Stand open, so cameras are showing an empty Dolman, but it does look bare. Tickets were £10 I think, and kids £1, so not high.

It’s a strange decision, rugby supporters ( as far as I’m aware) prefer to watch the game from the sides of the pitch rather than behind the posts. So for me it’s surprising that they aren’t using the Dolman rather than the South stand.

[Northern Red]

State of this ref. The game's done pal, no need to try and grab the limelight.

[JBFC II]

1 hour ago, Dylan said:

You're not the only one not going as the stadium looks empty

Is this because it's not a league match and the ticket prices to high

10k there, not bad for a basically reserve game where st holders have to pay...

Thought we were excellent with our set pieces tonight, scrum destroyed Gloucester but lack of imagination is our backs cost us the bonus point

[Club and Country]

10,000?

good crowd that for last night 

[Robbored]

5 minutes ago, Club and Country said:

10,000?

good crowd that for last night 

It was a decent attendence for essentially a reserve team game,  plus it was live on BT.

A couple of gasheads I know, big Bears fans were there - bet they’d love a 10k attendence at the Mem...........

[Rinkadink]

11 hours ago, Dylan said:

You're not the only one not going as the stadium looks empty

Is this because it's not a league match and the ticket prices to high

10,000 there which given it is not included with season tickets, on TV, in a development cup nobody really cares about is pretty good. Oh and it looked even emptier at the start as hundreds of people who bought tickets went to the turnstiles only to find they wouldn't scan so missed 15 minutes of the match queuing for replacements. No idea what happened there, got the information from Bears forum. Not good and might well cost us floating support, only feedback they had at the time was there was a problem and Bristol Sport apparently sent out an email (that has yet to be seen by anyone affected).

As for the match, much improved but a lot of work needed as I'm not sure Glaws were up to much last night. Dan Thomas (and all the forwards really) put in a massive shift. Bris standing still too much in attack for my liking, rare to hit the line at pace which means collisions won't be won and we don't have many if any big players to punch holes from a standing start. Defensive line looked a lot better without people flying out. Young backs did okay, don't think they will be dislodging any of our current starters though. Piatau looked hungry but only got a couple of touches. Loved the scrum and maul dominance.

[cidered abroad]

Good attendance for a rugby version of the Checkatrade cup.

Ticketing shambles with many home printed tickets not scanning. Those with them had to queue at ticket office for a reprint. So first twenty minutes or more, people still coming in, not regulars, and looking for seats.

Many already in their seats then leaving to get the next round of drinks or going to toilet.

Half time, the same as start of game with people wandering back in well after second half started.

Cheap tickets, too many non rugby fans just there for a Friday evening boozing social. Thus, impossible to watch the match, absolutely no atmosphere. Many of the crowd probably didn't even know the score.

So for me apart from the match result, a miserable evening. I cannot even comment on the Bristol performance because I saw very little if it.

@Mkelly The continual movement of people in and out of the seats at rugby is becoming a real nightmare. I understand the WRU are considering closing the bars during the match because it's the same problem at Wales matches.

I don't understand how so many people need to replenish drinks in forty five minutes. I don't object to alcohol in the seating areas so a dry area is not the answer. People at theatres, concerts and cinemas don't need to continually go to get drinks during the performance.

It doesn't happen at football because of the law but that law, brought in during the crazy hooligan days, is now a godsend as football crowds actually watch the game and create good atmospheres.

Are Bristol Rugby and Bristol Sport so desperate for the income from sales during the match? I think not. But this situation is fast becoming so uncomfortable that maybe the genuine rugby supporters will decide to watch it on TV and not bother to come to the stadium. As a dual ST holder, I'm seriously considering whether to renew the rugby one!

[Robbored]

13 hours ago, RedM said:

I’m not going tonight as I’m still now feeling great (LadyFlu) but delighted to discover just now that the game is on BT Sport. 

Just be glad you don’t have man flu..............

[Rinkadink]

3 hours ago, cidered abroad said:

Good attendance for a rugby version of the Checkatrade cup.

Ticketing shambles with many home printed tickets not scanning. Those with them had to queue at ticket office for a reprint. So first twenty minutes or more, people still coming in, not regulars, and looking for seats.

Many already in their seats then leaving to get the next round of drinks or going to toilet.

Half time, the same as start of game with people wandering back in well after second half started.

Cheap tickets, too many non rugby fans just there for a Friday evening boozing social. Thus, impossible to watch the match, absolutely no atmosphere. Many of the crowd probably didn't even know the score.

So for me apart from the match result, a miserable evening. I cannot even comment on the Bristol performance because I saw very little if it.

@Mkelly The continual movement of people in and out of the seats at rugby is becoming a real nightmare. I understand the WRU are considering closing the bars during the match because it's the same problem at Wales matches.

I don't understand how so many people need to replenish drinks in forty five minutes. I don't object to alcohol in the seating areas so a dry area is not the answer. People at theatres, concerts and cinemas don't need to continually go to get drinks during the performance.

It doesn't happen at football because of the law but that law, brought in during the crazy hooligan days, is now a godsend as football crowds actually watch the game and create good atmospheres.

Are Bristol Rugby and Bristol Sport so desperate for the income from sales during the match? I think not. But this situation is fast becoming so uncomfortable that maybe the genuine rugby supporters will decide to watch it on TV and not bother to come to the stadium. As a dual ST holder, I'm seriously considering whether to renew the rugby one!

That's a bit shite, I do class myself as a rugby supporter and didn't go last night for a few reasons (watched on TV of course) so perhaps blame me and us other regulars who didn't make it... to be honest I've not had too many issues with continuous interruptions from people who can't handle their booze but my ST is in the Lansdown so maybe it's a bit better on the whole? Atmosphere isn't anywhere like the old darkside or bass terrace as a negative though but I do my best to be really loud and one-eyed as possible.

I would try a call to customer support and ask to move seats/area due to this? Be sure to tell them why and it's been raised in the past with Tom Tainton so it's not like they don't know.

Talking of tickets, Exeter ones selling fast, think over 12k already so should be a good crowd. Hope we get a performance to match.

[cidered abroad]

20 hours ago, Rinkadink said:

That's a bit shite, I do class myself as a rugby supporter and didn't go last night for a few reasons (watched on TV of course) so perhaps blame me and us other regulars who didn't make it... to be honest I've not had too many issues with continuous interruptions from people who can't handle their booze but my ST is in the Lansdown so maybe it's a bit better on the whole? Atmosphere isn't anywhere like the old darkside or bass terrace as a negative though but I do my best to be really loud and one-eyed as possible.

I would try a call to customer support and ask to move seats/area due to this? Be sure to tell them why and it's been raised in the past with Tom Tainton so it's not like they don't know.

Talking of tickets, Exeter ones selling fast, think over 12k already so should be a good crowd. Hope we get a performance to match.

The S21 area that I sit in is normally, for ST matches, well populated by other ST holders and genuine rugby supporters who watch the game and vocally support the team. (See note below)

On Friday, so many in the South stand, were too busy making regular visits to bar and toilet, chatting with friends, coming in late and going early, to have any real interest in the events on the pitch. I don't understand why people pay an entry fee and higher prices for drinks than a local pub. They appear to have minimal interest in the match. I suspect that a significant number had no interest in the result. Just a social evening.

(The regulars near me, probably did not realise it wasn't an ST match until a short time before the game so had to sit elsewhere.)

Edited November 4, 2018 by cidered abroad

[slartibartfast]

4 hours ago, cidered abroad said:

The S21 area that I sit in is normally, for ST matches, well populated by other ST holders and genuine rugby supporters who watch the game and vocally support the team. (See note below)t20 game On Friday, so many in the South stand, were too busy making regular visits to bar and toilet,chatting with friends, coming in late and going early, to have any real interest in the events on the pitch. I don't understand why people pay an entry fee and higher prices for drinks than a local pub. They appear to have minimal interest in the match. I suspect that a significant number had no interest in the result. Just a social evening.

(The regulars near me, probably did not realise it wasn't an ST match until a short time before the game so had to sit elsewhere.)

Sounds like your average T20 game

[slartibartfast]

On 03/11/2018 at 08:45, cidered abroad said:

Good attendance for a rugby version of the Checkatrade cup.

Ticketing shambles with many home printed tickets not scanning. Those with them had to queue at ticket office for a reprint. So first twenty minutes or more, people still coming in, not regulars, and looking for seats.

Many already in their seats then leaving to get the next round of drinks or going to toilet.

Half time, the same as start of game with people wandering back in well after second half started.

Cheap tickets, too many non rugby fans just there for a Friday evening boozing social. Thus, impossible to watch the match, absolutely no atmosphere. Many of the crowd probably didn't even know the score.

So for me apart from the match result, a miserable evening. I cannot even comment on the Bristol performance because I saw very little if it.

@Mkelly The continual movement of people in and out of the seats at rugby is becoming a real nightmare. I understand the WRU are considering closing the bars during the match because it's the same problem at Wales matches.

I don't understand how so many people need to replenish drinks in forty five minutes. I don't object to alcohol in the seating areas so a dry area is not the answer. People at theatres, concerts and cinemas don't need to continually go to get drinks during the performance.

It doesn't happen at football because of the law but that law, brought in during the crazy hooligan days, is now a godsend as football crowds actually watch the game and create good atmospheres.

Are Bristol Rugby and Bristol Sport so desperate for the income from sales during the match? I think not. But this situation is fast becoming so uncomfortable that maybe the genuine rugby supporters will decide to watch it on TV and not bother to come to the stadium. As a dual ST holder, I'm seriously considering whether to renew the rugby one!

Never been to a rugby match in my life, but suspect it always used to go on BUT now all seater stadiums draw attention to it !

[JBFC II]

Team up for Sunday

15. Charles Piutau; 14. Luke Morahan, 13. Piers O’Conor, 12. Will Hurrell, 11. Ryan Edwards; 10. Callum Sheedy (co-capt), 9. Andy Uren; 1. Yann Thomas, 2. Shaun Malton, 3. John Afoa, 4. Ed Holmes, 5. Aly Muldowney, 6. Steve Luatua (co-capt), 7. Dan Thomas, 8. Jordan Crane.

Replacements: 16. Nick Fenton-Wells, 17. Jake Woolmore, 18. Lewis Thiede, 19. Joe Joyce, 20. George Smith, 21. Harry Randall, 22. Tiff Eden, 23. Sam Bedlow.

Interesting to see us going so strong for a cup game, here's hoping there aren't any injury's to key players.

It's on BT Sport at 3pm on Sunday if anyone is interested

[Midlands Robin]

That was a bloody great win today. Well done Bris.

[JBFC II]

Good win v a full strength wasps side. Disappointing in some ways as we left 20 points on the pitch due to lack of precision. Do that v exeter and it will cost us

[CyderInACan]

11 hours ago, JBFC II said:

Good win v a full strength wasps side. Disappointing in some ways as we left 20 points on the pitch due to lack of precision. Do that v exeter and it will cost us

Here’s hoping for a real game on Sunday against Chiefs. Really need to build on this momentum over the last 2 games. At least 2pts please!

[phantom]

On 03/11/2018 at 08:45, cidered abroad said:

Good attendance for a rugby version of the Checkatrade cup.

Ticketing shambles with many home printed tickets not scanning. Those with them had to queue at ticket office for a reprint. So first twenty minutes or more, people still coming in, not regulars, and looking for seats.

@cidered abroad I thought you may be interested to see this. I'm intrigued why this fan is getting free tickets, surely everyone affected should get the same, not just those that contacted the club to complain?

This appeared on the Bristol Bears Facebook page:

Dear Mr **********

Thank you for your patience whilst I investigated the events which resulted in you and other supporters being unable entry into Ashton Gate on Friday 2nd November 2018.

I would like to take this opportunity to again offer my apologies for the difficult experience you had during your visit last week.

I have now completed my investigation and would like to offer you a transparent explanation of a number of issues which ultimately meant peoples tickets did not work at the turnstiles.

I am sorry in advance for the length of my response but feel it is important to start at the beginning so that you see the full timeline of events. For ease I have broken this into sections (Issues, Findings, Resolution).

Issues

Before the game went on sale (Monday 17th September 2018), it was set up in our systems. Part of this set up process was to add the designs onto the e-tickets. Unfortunately, it was not noticed at this point the wrong design had been used.

On Wednesday 24th October 2018 the wrong design was noticed by a member of Bristol Sports staff who raised it immediately with the ticketing team. Because the wrong e-ticket design included incorrect team branding and tournament information it potentially left the club open to a fine from Premiership Rugby (PRL).

Within an a couple of hours of being advised of the issue, the design on the tickets was corrected and a decision was made to re-issue all of the e-tickets which had already been sent to supporters.

On Friday 2nd November 2018 (match day) the turnstiles opened as normal and very quickly it became apparent there was an issue with large amounts of e-tickets. A decision was made by the Chief Safety Officer, that anyone presenting at the turnstiles with incorrectly branded e-tickets or if the red light flashed on the turnstile, would have to go to the ticket office to get a valid ticket to enter the stadium.

There was little or no communication with supporters before going to the turnstiles making supporters aware of any ticketing issue even after the problem was identified.

Due to the large number of supporters requiring new/re-printed tickets the queues at the ticket office grew quickly and remained large until well into the first half of the game.

Because people were entering the stadium after kick off they were sitting in the nearest seats they could find regardless of whether they had actually reserved them and this further delayed people taking their correct seats to actually stat watching the game.

I hope that the above explanation helps you to understand the range of issues which occurred in both the lead up to the game and the evening of the match itself. I would now like to go into my findings from the investigation and what I propose we at Ashton Gate do to put this right.

Findings

There were no checking in place to notice any design issues on our tickets before they go on sale. This is not acceptable and I have immediately implemented a checking process which will stop mistakes like this from happening again.

Whilst I do think the decision to re-issue the tickets was absolutely correct, our method of doing it was flawed and lacked clarity and most importantly communication with supporters. I can completely understand why people turned up to the ground with the incorrectly branded tickets. In addition the issue and subsequent decision to re-issue should have been raised to a senior manager. If it had been a more comprehensive plan to contact supporters would have been initiated.

Lack of internal communication compounded the problem and meant that Bristol Bears and other operational functions within the stadium were unaware of the issue and this was simply unacceptable. Procedures have been put in place to stop this from ever happening again.

In relation to the Safety Officer deciding to refuse entry if the wrong ticket was presented at the turnstile. I cannot call their decision into question as they have to look after the safety of everyone at the stadium. Ultimately they should not have been put in a situation where they had to make a decision. However, the rationale behind the decision was that there was effectively double the amount of e-tickets in circulation, the original incorrectly branded and the re-issued tickets with the correct design. The stadium was not prepared for what could have been 1000’s of extra supporters if both sets of tickets had been used, which would have led to a potential safety issue.

The communication about the issue on the night was poor or non-existent so can only imagine how confusing it must have been for supporters. Again, there should be no further problems of this kind, but if there were a clear and consistent message would go out to the supporters in and around the ground to tell them what was happening and what they needed to do.

The ticket office was overstretched on the evening and this really impacted queue length and the amount of time it took to get tickets re-issued. We always endeavour to open up all of the windows during the led up to kick-off but unfortunately we had staffing issues on the day. We are building a more robust contingency plan so that supporters are not impacted.

In relation to people sitting in the wrong seats, I think that had none of the other issue occurred this would not have been a problem as everyone would have had enough time to take their own seats.

In summary, there were a number of decisions which were made and issues before the match which culminated in a disappointing experience for many who visited Ashton Gate for the Bristol Bears Premiership Rugby Cup game against Gloucester.

Resolution

To put this right I would like to offer you tickets to the upcoming Bristol Bears Premiership Cup game against Exeter Chiefs on Saturday 26th January 2019. I will happily arrange for you to have the original seats you chose for the Bears v Gloucester game, if you want them.

I hope that my response goes some way to show that customer service is incredibly important to us here at Ashton Gate and that we are not afraid to learn from our mistakes and invaluable supporter feedback.

Please can I ask you to contact me to arrange your tickets to the Bristol Bears v Exeter Chief Premiership Rugby Cup game.

If you do have any questions in relation to any of my response or anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours Sincerely

Ryan
Ryan Corrigan

Customer Service Manager
Bristol Sport Limited

[Kid in the Riot]

Recognising a problem, putting in measures to ensure it won't happen again, apologetic. Ryan Corrigan won't be at Bristol Sport long.

[JBFC II]

Bristol currently 19-12 up at ht v exeter.... 

[JBFC II]

And the referee ensures bristol don't win, gives exeter an 85th minute penalty try to win... 

No chance he was letting us get a win from that game

[Kid in the Riot]

Never a penalty try. Why's he making a massive call like that in the last play of the game?  

Agonising for Bristol, 1pt and should've had 4pts. 

On the positive a really good performance. 

[RedM]

Absolutely gutted today. Finally I leave a rugby game having seen the same passion and disappointment I often feel after watching City. The fans really got behind the team and at times it felt more like a football atmosphere, which was a good thing. I wanted to find Pat Lam and give him a hug and kick down the Referees door at the same time. Football is a cruel game at times, and now I find rugby just as hard to stomach.

I can take losing but why when the technology is a huge part of the game was it not even used, even if the result turned out to be the same. I feel cheated. The Ref had decided what he was giving and already turning away before the move had been completed. Never mind all the replays, I saw it happen infront of me only feet away. Gutted for the Bears.

PS the minutes silence was professionally held today, no misunderstanding, just perfect tribute.

Also credit to the Bristol players who at the final whistle stayed out on the pitch and signed autographs and had selfies with people, they must have been devastated. 

[cidered abroad]

Totally agree RedM. I thought we were robbed or perhaps mugged by a ref who got a lot wrong all afternoon. It's amazing how much cheating by rugby players goes unnoticed by refs and line judges. Obstruction, deliberate wandering around in offside positions, clear forward passes, crooked lineouts and even more crooked feeding at scrums.

The only bright side was that apart from a few, 99% of the fans were in their seats, watching the game and giving both teams lot of vocal support. A good match with atmosphere, even if we got the rough end of the luck.

It proves once again for me that cheap tickets for Micky Mouse cup ties at rugby have a significant number of attendees who are just on a social piss up and don't give a toss about the match.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Performance seemed good, as it did v Northampton- on the wrong end of a high scoring game once again. Things seem a lot better than Premiership 2 years ago though, Exeter are reigning Champions and Northampton are a good side usually. Still it could well be a relegation battle this season- Ashton Gate needs to be a bit of a fortress.

Fine margins etc- last season Bristol won a few high scoring games or pulled away late on where extra quality gained the edge- in this division where the quality and professionalism is markedly higher, the side maybe on the end of a few games like this.

[Mr Popodopolous]

29 minutes ago, Tomarse said:

They’ve not had an easy start. Still got the likes of Sale, Newcastle and Worcester to play again. I think they’ll be fine 

True- Newcastle seem to have regressed to the mean after being quite good 2 years ago, think they finished quite high up. Worcester at home is truly a must win and Sale also.

Signs look a lot better than 2 seasons ago that's for sure.

[MichaelRobartes]

Just seen the highlights. Penalty try looked dubious enough but Exeter are a superb mauling side. Munster have one of the best maul defences in club rugby and they gave us problems there in the Heineken.

On another note, Yann Thomas and John Afoa have had their front row cards revoked for making breaks and no-look passes.

[JBFC II]

Teams up for tomorrow

Scarily we will be favourites looking at the respective strengths of the two sides and unlike last week we have a bench that I reckon will make a difference when coming on. That’s the strongest 23 I’ve seen in my 6 years supporting Bristol and I’ll be glued to every moment of it whilst waiting in trepidation at elland road tomorrow!

Come on Bris!

[CyderInACan]

Wins for Wuss and Newcastle last night. Pressure on!