Bristol will learn from Leinster loss, says skipper

Bristol held Leinster 7-7 for 50 minutes of their Champions Cup opening match

Bristol Bears' young squad will learn from their Champions Cup defeat to Leinster, says captain Fitz Harding.

The Bears took the lead against the four-time European Cup winners in the match at Ashton Gate and held them 7-7 until 50 minutes, before New Zealand replacement Jordie Barrett scored the first of four tries for the Irish side to run away with the win.

They face another steep challenge in their next Champions Cup game when they travel to France to play 2022 and 2023 winners La Rochelle on Saturday.

"It's great learning for us as a group. They're the sort of team we want to compete with, we competed really well but we didn't get the result and that's the main thing," Harding told BBC Radio Bristol.

"For the rest of the season this is the type of team we want to be - a team that is composed, that finds solutions to the problems in front of them and a team that can front up and I think that we've showed we have the capacity do that. But can we do it for 80 minutes and can we do it when the pressure's really on?"

Bristol are currently second in the Premiership having won five of their seven league fixtures so far this season.

However the European campaign provides a new crop of opposition and tournament favourites Leinster were packed with international heavyweights, including South African World Cup-winning lock RG Snyman, Caelan Doris and Andrew Porter all on the replacements bench.

"They provided something a little bit different in the way they defend, something we don't normally face in the Premiership," said Harding.

"I think we struggled to adapt to that at times we spoke about it a lot during the week but it's hard to truly replicate a defence like that."

Bristol have a relatively small squad this season, with 38 first-team players the lowest number since director of rugby Pat Lam took over in 2017.

The average age has also reduced compared with last season, with Harding among 14 players aged 25 and under.

"You can train as much as you want and you can analyse and preview but we're a young side and there are a lot of lads in that team, including myself - this is the first time I've played what is an international side," Harding said.

"It was a great learning experience for myself and lots of other guys in the team facing something they haven't faced before."