Bristol Bears bring in English-qualified centre from France

Colin Newboult
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Bristol Bears have announced the signing of centre Antoine Frisch, who joins from Rouen in the French Pro D2.

The English-qualified 24-year-old arrives in the West Country ahead of the 2021/22 season.

“We’re excited to bring Antoine to Bristol to give him an opportunity to achieve his dreams. While we were impressed by his performances for Rouen, it was clear after Conor and I met and interviewed him that he was worth a chance, as his ambition and attitude are aligned with the goals of our Bears rugby programme,” said director of rugby Pat Lam.

Mother from Devon

“Although Antoine was born in France, his mother is from Devon where he spent a lot of time with family on holidays.

“He has a real desire to play and perform in the Premiership and at the Bears he has seen that, despite the strong competition in positions, if you put the hard work in and perform on and off the field, you will get the opportunity to impress.

“Antoine played 24 times in the Pro D2 last season and was a standout performer for Rouen. It’s a tough, uncompromising competition so we believe he has the tenacity and durability to cope with the demands of the Premiership.”

Having played under former Bristol head coach Richard Hill at Rouen, Frisch also spent a year at Loughborough University in 2015.

He said: “To come to a club like Bristol with a world-class reputation is a huge challenge for me and I’m grateful for the opportunity.

“After meeting with Pat and Conor and hearing about the Bears vision and programme, I knew this is where I needed to be to grow as a person and a player.

“I’m excited to develop and learn alongside some of the best players in the world – I can’t wait to get started.”

Bristol