Bouncing back

"There's no uncertainty about where the club's going now and that's really important."
Paul Hull Quotes of the week

Fast forward twelve months and the mood could not be more different.

Paul Hull's side topped the RFU Championship during the regular campaign and having safely navigated their way through the play-offs are just three games away from a return to the top flight.

A victory over London Welsh on Friday night and further success in the two-legged final against either Exeter or Bedford at the end of the month will ensure Bristol reacquaint themselves with the Premiership elite next term - a scenario that head coach Hull envisaged even before a try was scored.

"We came back in pre-season on June 8, which seems a long time away now, and it was obviously a goal to get into the Premiership," Hull told the Rugby Club.

"It's a weird structure. You play all your league games and you literally start another season going into the play-offs.

"But there's no uncertainty about where the club's going now and that's really important.

"Yes we should always look at the history, but we've got to look forward and that's what we're trying to do this year. We've got some big challenges ahead but I'm really confident with the structure the club's got in place that the future is safe."

"I've learnt a lot up and down the country going to old traditional rugby clubs, the warmth and passion of the supporters. They're close to the touchline and not in massive stands. The challenges of us being a Premiership club, coming down and being a big scalp."

Modest

Should Bristol achieve promotion, they will have to survive on a modest budget next season, but the Memorial Stadium outfit can take inspiration from Leeds, who stayed in this year's Premiership on a shoestring.

"It's quite warming to see what (Director of Rugby) Andy Key and Backy (coach Neil Back) have done. They've got a good management team there and they worked hard," said Hull.

"The key is they worked well and they gelled as a team and I think that's why if we did get in that position we'd have to keep the same squad of players we've got because we do work hard as a group of players and you need that and then you just bring in one or two."

Passionate

"We've had some tough times but there are a lot of people who are passionate about Bristol, it's infectious and I think that's what's in my blood now.

"And I'm passionate about us being back in the Premiership and I'm passionate about us actually surviving and doing well in the Premiership and growing as a team and a club again.

"It's hard to come up with a couple of sentences about why it's in my blood but it's in there and I think once you've been around a few Bristol players who've been at the club for a while you understand why."