Everything is a bit different in Round 19 of the 2020/21 Gallagher Premiership, and with good reason.
Fans are back in stadiums for the first time in 2021 as the government eases national Covid-19 lockdown rules from Monday with the number of people getting infected with the virus steadily decreasing.
Bristol Bears will host Gloucester Rugby at Ashton Gate at 7.45pm on Monday night in front of 3,138 supporters.
Because of the later kick-off, everything in the week has been moved back with the players only reporting for their first training session on Wednesday.
Crucially team news for Bristol Bears v Gloucester has also been moved from the regular time slot of midday on Friday lunchtime.
Team news for the West Country derby will now go live at midday on Sunday, May 16.
The team news will be covered as ever in our live blog on the Bristol Live and Gloucestershire Live websites.
Bears director of rugby Pat Lam said everyone at the club is getting excited for the return of fans.
Speaking ahead of the game he said: “It’s exciting times. There is a focus on every game, so playing Gloucester heightens everything again, and the crowd coming in, albeit the beginning of a process to build the crowd back up, it’s exciting times.
“We understand it’s another derby with Gloucester and they will be dangerous. They had a great win, and they are improving every time under George (Skivington) and their new coaching regime.
“However, for us, I think the biggest focus is that every game is important, because when we took top spot in the table in round six, for us still to be there in round 19 is a huge effort, because we put an emphasis on us and on our journey, and we said the only reason we’ll get overtake is if we drop our standards.
“So, it would be a shame, with the position we are in with four games to go and an eight-point lead, to not get to the end as the team at the top, before we go into the semis.”
