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Pat Lam's Bristol Bears are no doubt the Premiership's entertainers.
Pat Lam's Bristol Bears are no doubt the Premiership's entertainers.
The Bears have been involved in their fair share of basketball-like scorelines, throwing chaotic or sublime offloads, with a clear ability to score from anywhere on the park.
Gabriel Ibitoye and Kalaveti Ravouvou are worth the Ashton Gate admission fee alone, but Bristol's super strength of promoting attacking, free-flowing rugby is turning into their kryptonite.
Guilty of over playing when it’s not on
Alongside Bath, Bristol have been part of the league's top two for the vast majority of the campaign, but the Bears surrendered their second-place last week in their disappointing loss at home to Leicester Tigers.
Some of the tries Bristol conceded exposed their timid defence, and while Ravouvou's assist for Ibitoye's try will go down as one of the best the league has ever seen, Bristol's over playing cost them dearly.
Ibitoye was player of the match against Saracens earlier in the season as he ran rings around the Sarries defence but his foolish penalty at the end of the match gave away their win.
Ibitoye’s England chances are fading
Bristol were firmly outplayed in a defining first half but Ibitoye's careless offload, as if he was playing sevens, saw an easy run in for Ollie Hassell-Collins following his intercept.
There's no doubt the attacking flair Ibitoye and co. possess, but his costly error won't do his England opportunities any favours. Not when the likes of Paul Brown-Bampoe and Tom Roebuck are proving safer options for Steve Borthwick's Americas tour.
The Leicester loss followed their 53-28 humbling at Gloucester and with 14 tries conceded in their last two games, it's safe to say Bristol's turnstile-like defence has been exposed.
Leicester 
Bristol 
Exeter 
Newcastle
Bristol Attention turns to this weekend
This Saturday's meeting away at Northampton Saints acts as a prime opportunity to stop the rot with their hosts likely prioritising next week's Champions Cup semi-final. Lam will be urging his troops to maintain their silky flair and devastating attack, but only when the time is right.
Bristol are only two points ahead of fifth-place Saracens and a loss opens the trap door for them to fall out the play-offs.
The term 'must win' is a sporting cliche, but with Bath, Sale Sharks and Harlequins being their remaining games, I think the shoe fits for this one.
| # | Team | PL | W | L | D | PD | BP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bath Rugby | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 202 | 13 | 61 |
| 2 |  Leicester Tigers | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 57 | 12 | 46 |
| 3 |  Bristol Bears | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 38 | 14 | 46 |
| 4 |  Sale Sharks | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 8 | 44 |
| 5 |  Saracens | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 44 |
| 6 |  Gloucester Rugby | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 13 | 41 |
| 7 |  Harlequins | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | -2 | 12 | 38 |
| 8 |  Northampton Saints | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | -5 | 9 | 33 |
| 9 |  Exeter Chiefs | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | -85 | 9 | 21 |
| 10 |  Newcastle Falcons | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | -275 | 4 | 12 |