Bristol Bears

Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional men's rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in the Gallagher PREM, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as "Bristol Football Club" in 1888; between 1921 and 2014, home matches were played at the Memorial Ground, and have since been played at Ashton Gate Stadium in the south-west of the city. The current head coach Pat Lam was appointed in 2017. In the 2024–25 season Bristol finished 4th, losing in the play off semi-finals, entitling them to compete in the 2025-26 European Rugby Champions Cup. In 2018, the club rebranded as "Bristol Bears"; between 2001 and 2005 the club were known as "Bristol Shoguns" due to a sponsorship deal with Mitsubishi. Bristol won the 1983 John Player Cup and have also won England's second division four times, most recently in 2017–18. In 2019–2020, Bristol won The European Challenge Cup for the first time.