Ellis Genge already looks terrifying in Bristol colours
England loosehead Ellis Genge has only been with Bristol Bears a matter of days, but he will already have his opponents quaking with fear ahead of the new season.
The 27-year-old’s move to Bristol from Leicester Tigers this summer was maybe the biggest of the Gallagher Premiership, as he returns to the club he started his career with, and he looks like he’s ready to tear up trees this season.
The Bears have shared some footage of Genge in preseason training, where he looked to be generating enough power on the Wattbike to power all of Europe. This comes off the back of a July where the prop was in sensational form for England against Australia, producing two of the standout moments of the series as he ran through Michael Hooper and also Samu Kerevi.
Even before he arrived at preseason, his director of rugby Pat Lam said “Ellis was immense on the tour and he was immense all season for England and Leicester.”
He would have returned to preseason over the last couple of weeks, and the early signs look quite encouraging for Bristol fans. On top of that, Genge is not the only big signing at Ashton Gate this summer, as AJ MacGinty has arrived from Sale Sharks and Scotland No8 Magnus Bradbury has arrived from Edinburgh.
Genge’s last act in a Tigers shirt was guiding them to Premiership glory in June against Saracens, and Lam has said that his leadership will be crucial in the season ahead. He said: “I always challenge guys to try and prepare and think as though they are the captain, because it does change the way you think – it is the bigger picture.
“I think everyone knows the growth Ellis is making and he will definitely be in our leadership group.”
@EllisGenge is in the building! pic.twitter.com/2nQ74LuAPa
— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) August 22, 2022
