FT: Bristol Bears 17-10 Bath
Four Madigan penalties and Leiua try give Bristol victory
Homer try and Priestland penalty see Bath fight back from 9-0 down
Opening match of 2018-19 Premiership season
Bristol promoted from Championship last season
Get involved #bbcrugby
Bristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
Tonight’s man in the middle, JP Doyle, is taking charge of his 154th Premiership game.
His assistant referees are Adam Leal and Wayne Falla with Rowan Kitt on TMO duties.
Bristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
It's not all about our live text offering this evening. As ever, BBC local radio has the action well covered, with BBC Radio Bristol bringing you Bristol Bears v Bath blow by blow.
Simply scroll across the choice of commentaries at the top of the screen and press play to listen.
Bristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
Well tonight Bristol Bears are bidding to become the third promoted team in the last four seasons to win their opening fixture in Premiership Rugby.
Bath, of course, will want to prevent that and they have started their season with a victory in Round 1 for the past eight years.
With emotions running high and everything on the line, it promises to be a special night.
Image source, Rex FeaturesDon't forget to let us know what you think about the 2018-19 season... our pundits had their say and now we would love to know yours.
Will we have new champions or will Saracens secure a fourth title in five years? Which side might break into the top four and who will be drop out of the league?
Get in touch using #bbcrugby on Twitter.
Bristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
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Bristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
Back to something a little more serious (!), ever wondered what a day in the life of a head coach is like?
BBC Points West spent a day with Bristol Bears' Pat Lam to find out.
Handshakes and tactics: A day with Bristol's Pat Lam
Bristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
And here's how Bath reckon their hosts will line-up. Too much handling and they could find themselves in a sticky situation.
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This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Bristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
New Zealand international Steven Luatua will skipper Bristol Bears tonight.
The 27-year-old forms an extremely experienced back-row unit with George Smith starting at openside and Jordan Crane filling the No. 8 jersey.
Meanwhile, in the pack, Yann Thomas, Harry Thacker and John Afoa form a new-look front row partnership.
Image source, .Bristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
England and Bath back Anthony Watson isn't ready to run out for his club just yet.
The 24-year-old required a second operation on his Achilles tendon after re-tearing it during a commercial photo shoot.
Fellow England international Jonathan Joseph is also on the sidelines - he's recovering from an ankle injury.
Image source, Getty ImagesBristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
Matt Garvey will lead out Bath into the cauldron of noise that will be Ashton Gate tonight. Alongside his second-row partner Dave Attwood, who's back after a loan spell at Toulon last season,Garvey will be itching to lead by example.
The Blue, Black and Whites' debutants include Jamie Roberts and Jackson Willison in the midfield while Bath’s back-row unit of Zach Mercer, Sam Underhill and Taulupe Faletau don't need any introduction!
Image source, .Bristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
Bristol Bears have been turning heads (in a good way) on social media during their pre-season campaign.
The friendly 'banter' between them and Bath has been very amusing and it continued last night.
If you missed their latest chat, here it is!
Bristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
Bath finished their pre-season in style with a 45-12 victory over Scarlets at The Recreation Ground. New recruit, Joe Cokanasiga, scored twice on his home debut and it added to their 12-10 win over Edinburgh.
At 6’4” and 112kg Cokanasiga is a dynamic addition to the West Country's back-line. The 20-year-old game through London Irish’s academy and is arleady on Eddie Jones’ radar having been included in his previous, and most-recent, England training squad.
Image source, Getty ImagesBristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
What about tonight’s visitors we hear you cry?!
Well, Bath's Director of Rugby is keen to show the fruits of a productive and positive pre-season from the outset.
Image source, Getty ImagesQuote Message“We want to see if we can transfer all our pre-season work into that game. We have changed a few things in our game, built a bit of a new identity. For whatever reason, last year just felt a bit soulless. We showed promise but also the dark side of how we can play at times, we went through some really horrible patches and managed to dig our way out of it. A lot of good lessons can be learned from those difficult seasons; we are a lot more resilient now and will let our actions do the talking.”
Todd Blackadder
Bristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
Chris Jones
BBC rugby union reporter at Ashton Gate
Image source, Chris Jones - BBC SportAll’s fair in love and war - Bath boss Todd Blackadder and Bristol centre Will Hurrell share an embrace in the warm-up. Hurrell spent some time on loan at The Rec last season, but is back in the Bristol midfield tonight.
You couldn’t accuse Bristol boss Pat Lam of being a hands-off coach. He’s taking an active part in the Bears’ warm-up drills.
Bristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
On Wednesday it was announced that Charles Piutau has been ruled out of tonight’s match.
Pat Lam highlighted that the full-back will see a specialist this weekend to assess the extent of a shoulder injury suffered during last week’s pre-season clash with Connacht.
When the 26-year-old was last in the Premiership with Wasps, he ripped it up and all fans of the competition will be hoping that he's not out for long.
Image source, Rex FeaturesBristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
With the first past the post nature of the Championship last season, Bristol Bears secured their place to dine at England’s top table in April.
The early confirmation allowed their head coach to plan for, and recruit, earlier than before... it’s fair to say that he was a busy man.
Bristol's new recruits include 111-capped Wallaby George Smith, World Cup-winning All Black John Afoa, Charles Piutau (more about him later) and the former Leicester Tiger Harry Thacker.
Let’s not forget that Lam’s squad already contained the likes of Ian Madigan, Jordan Crane, Steven Luatua and Jack Lam.
Image source, Rex FeaturesBristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
Image source, JMPUKPat Lam has made his intentions for Bristol Bears very clear and they don’t include the word ‘survival'. The club's head coach spoke openly with BBC Sport about his "vision" for the competition's new boys this term and it makes for fascinating reading.
As the Premiership returns, head coach Pat Lam tells BBC Sport about his "vision" for new boys Bristol Bears.
Read MoreBristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
Our pundits have had their say - now it's the chance to have yours.
We want to hear about your predictions for the new Premiership season. Will we have new champions or will Saracens reign supreme again?
Who might break into the top four and who will be playing Championship rugby next season?
Get in touch using #bbcrugby on Twitter.
Bristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
Tonight it’s set to be a recording breaking night for the home side as they confirmed in the build-up that they will break the club record attendance this evening.
There’s a revamped fan village and clubhouse… the excitement surrounding the fixture is huge. These two will be up for it too!
Image source, Getty ImagesBristol Bears v Bath (19:45 BST)
Image source, .So how will this season pan out?
Before a try has been scored and a tackle made, BBC Sport spoke to former England trio Jeremy Guscott, Matt Dawson and Ugo Monye and BBC Radio 5 live's rugby union reporter Chris Jones to preview the new Premiership campaign and to find out who they think the top dogs, surprise challengers, strugglers and players to watch might be.
Former British and Irish Lions Jeremy Guscott, Matt Dawson and Ugo Monye preview the new Premiership season.
Read More