The hard way

The Rugby Club met up with Richard Hill as Bristol face another tough season in the Premiership.

Once again Bristol are using the traditional underdog tag as motivation and the Rugby Club went down to see how they were faring. Bristol kicked off their season against old rivals Bath but despite playing well they still went down at home. "It is going to be a rough old season for us," admitted Bristol coach Richard Hill. "It is probably the most competitive it has been since I have known and since Bristol has been back in the Premiership. "It will be tough, but it gets the best out of everybody -- it gets the best out of the coaching staff, and the best out of the players. "We have to work especially hard to make sure we get every ounce we can which accelerates the development of coaches and players a like." The salary cap may have gone up to £4.4 million, but Bristol have learnt from their past mistakes and are keeping a close eye on the coffers. "I would not like to say how much we are spending but it is considerably less than that," said Hill. "It is a little bit less than we had last year, but we understand why, the club has gone bust twice and been relegated twice. "If they really did not have the ambition, then I think it would be hard for anyone to stay at the club. At the moment there is huge will off the field, we have a very good board in place and they mix with the players and they are in it together. "There is definitely the will, we just need to find a way."