'Winning or entertaining? Bristol Bears captain Fitz Harding and owner Steve Lansdown at odds over priorities

Bristol Bears captain Fitz Harding has insisted that the team's priority is "winning and getting trophies" after the club's owner said the thing he values most is entertaining the supporters. Steve Lansdown said this week he previously told head coach Pat Lam to play a more exciting brand of rugby after becoming "bored" and "fed up". But Harding said he does not "necessarily agree" with the owner.

'I can't say I agree with that' - Harding on Steve Landsdown's 'entertainment' comments

Video credit: TNT Sports

Bristol Bears captain Fitz Harding has disagreed with comments from the club's owner about prioritising an entertaining brand of rugby over results.

Steve Lansdown admitted this week that he had previously told Pat Lam to adopt a more exciting approach, insisting to the head coach that he "didn’t care" where they finished in the Gallagher PREM.

Lansdown, who also owns Bristol City FC, said he was "fed up" and "bored" with his team’s style of play, and that entertaining the supporters was "the main thing".

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But following Bristol's exciting 49-34 victory over Gloucester on Friday night, Harding told TNT Sports that he does not "necessarily agree" with the owner's comments.

The Bears skipper said: "It’s a perception of Bristol that I think a lot of people have that we’re more concerned with the brand of rugby we play than winning.

"But certainly from the players’ point of view, we're not here to play entertaining rugby necessarily, we’re here to win trophies.

"The lucky thing about the environment we have is that we get to do both. Winning and getting trophies is the main thing."

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It comes after Lansdown was asked this week to confirm a rumour that he told Lam to change his approach following a defeat against Connacht.

David Flatman said the story in the "rugby bubble" is that Lansdown told the coach he would rather lose playing expansively than by adopting a percentage-based approach designed to achieve results.

Lansdown told Flatman on TNT Sports: "Yeah, more or less. A few more swear words. There's more to it than that.

"I looked at just rugby as a whole, and the only way you make money at rugby is getting people to come and sit in these seats out here and watch the game.

"There's no point in playing percentage games and everything else. You want people to come here, have a great time.

"If you can win more games than you lose, and people are happy, that's the main thing. We're in the entertainment business in that regard."

"I cringe every time I see a box kick, if I'm honest. I hate it. Even when I'm watching England, I hate watching it, because all you do is give the ball back to somebody else, and then you have to go and fight for it again.

"I'd rather keep the ball and try and do something with it. And I think that's what Bristol Bears is all about.

"So yes, I did have a word with Pat afterwards, and explained exactly that same thing. I told him I was bored, which I was. I was fed up with what I was watching.

"And Pat asked me one question: 'Where do you want us to finish?’ And I said I don't care.

"We'll play the way we play, we enjoy the work we do, we entertain our crowd, we bring the crowds back in, and I believe we'll get there anyway."

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