Malins is looking to shine at Bristol

IT WAS typical of fate that Max Malins’s first start for Bristol since signing for them permanently came at the club where his career had started eight years before, Saracens.

- PAUL REES

Malins spent a season on loan at the Bears when Saracens were relegated to the Championship in 2020, and admitted that leaving the Premiership champions was the hardest decision he has made.

“It was extremely tough,” said the 26-year-old Malins, who missed the start of the season because he was with England at the World Cup. “I had been there for eight years and it is a club that puts an emphasis on its academy and bringing players through.

“I had already experienced Bristol and the first-class facilities the club has. Not much has changed since I was last here and there is a real belief despite some of the results. We know we are not far away. It was weird going back to Saracens and changing in the away dressing room. It was good to see familiar faces and I felt as if I was back in the academy training against the first team.

“To lose was frustrating because we felt the game was there for the taking. We are capable of beating anyone, but momentum is a big thing and we’ve come out on the wrong side in games of small margins.”