‘I just love the way this guy is on and off the field’
It is safe to say that BT Sport pundits and former England internationals Lawrence Dallaglio and Ugo Monye are fans of Bristol Bears and England prop Ellis Genge.
The England loosehead marked his return to Bristol after six years at Leicester Tigers with a sensational display on Saturday, scoring two epic tries against rivals Bath.
This has been quite a year for the 27-year-old so far, as he led Leicester to Gallagher Premiership glory in June before having a standout series against Australia for England. After his display on the season opener, former England captain Dallaglio lavished him with praise, saying:
“I thought this was the performance of the weekend. He’s the poster boy for the Bristol marketing team. He’s been given special dispensation to come and play because he’s an international. So there was a lot of pressure on him, from Leicester the champion side where he was captain to really lift the performance, but I think he delivered on every single level. He was vocal throughout. This was like in the first couple of minutes of the game [his try]- I mean, that is a serious break. He’s throwing in dummies there, he’s celebrating, tapping the emblem and the jersey before. He’s even scored the try, I just love the way this guy is on and off the field.
“This [his second try] maybe he looks like he’s playing a slightly different age group to the defence but you can only play what’s in front of you. I think he’s going to be crucial because Bristol last season lost the first half a dozen games of the season and they never recovered. So important that they won that game yesterday and Genge led by example.”
Monye thoughts do not differ from Dallaglio’s either: “I don’t want to go overboard with it, but Ellis Genge is an icon. He is absolutely that, not just the Bristol players but he’s one for the Gallagher Premiership, and he is that for English rugby. Not just what he does on the pitch but it’s the person that he is, how we connect himself to grassroots the rugby camps they has. He’s someone that every rugby player and fan absolutely follows.”
“Ellis Genge is an ICON.
“Not just for @BristolBears, but for the #GallagherPrem and English rugby.”
The 27-year-old enjoyed a dream return to the West Country on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/irK0uID0IR
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) September 12, 2022
