Bristol away: the statistical preview
* Newcastle Falcons won the reverse fixture against Bristol earlier this season (13-5) and will try to complete a season double against the Bears for the first time since 2016/17; the team leading at half-time went on to win in 10 of the last 11 games between these two teams in the Premiership.
* Bristol Bears won their most recent Premiership game (32-15 v Sale Sharks) and will be aiming to win consecutive league matches only for the second time this season.
* Bristol Bears have conceded fewer than 20 points in each of their last two Premiership encounters but haven’t enjoyed a longer such run since November 2020 – January 2021, when they conceded fewer than 20 points in five consecutive league matches.
* 23% of Newcastle’s tries in the Premiership this season have come from counter attacks, the highest rate of any side, with six of their 26 tries coming in that fashion.
* Bristol have conceded just four tries in the opening 20 minutes of their games in the Premiership this season, fewer than any other team, while Newcastle have conceded the joint second fewest in that period (5, level with three others).
* Bristol Bears have averaged 11.8 successful offloads per game in the Premiership this season, over three per game more than the next best team (Wasps – 8.3); of Bristol Bears’ 184 offload attempts, 77.2% have reached a teammate, the third high success rate in the league this term (London Irish – 81.6%; Saracens – 80.5%).
* Newcastle Falcons have conceded just one try following an opposition scrum in the Premiership this season, a joint-low alongside London Irish; however, the Falcons have conceded the most tries following a turnover of any team in the league this term (9).
* Semi Radradra has averaged 2.5 offloads per game in his four appearances for Bristol this season, the most of any player in the Premiership.
