Bristol Bears linked with another international fly-half as club pour cold water on Owen Farrell rumours

Bristol Bears are on the hunt for a marquee fly-half signing ahead of the 2024/25 season but it certainly won’t be former England captain Owen Farrell despite the former Saracens man being linked with the club.

Lam is on the hunt for a new playmaker to execute his attack from stand-off with 34-year-old AJ MacGinty out of contract at Ashton Gate at the end of the season. Bristol may still offer USA international MacGinty a new deal at the club with the former Connacht man currently in the form of his life, but there is also an acceptance the veteran who turns 35 in February can not be relied on to be a starter every week for much longer, with no other specialist fly-half in the Bears’ senior squad. There are high hopes for academy number 10 Sam Worsley who has started in the Premiership Rugby and against Australia XV this season, but he is yet to prove himself at Premiership level.

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Bristol’s pursuit of a new top-end fly-half has been a poorly kept secret, with a deal to lure talismanic England international Marcus Smith to Ashton Gate incredibly close to getting over the line before the 25-year-old signed a new contract with Harlequins.

Following the breakdown in those negotiations, wild rumours circulated that Bristol were interested in bring Farrell back to the Premiership despite the British and Irish Lion having only moved to French Top 14 side Racing 92 from Saracens in the summer. BristolLive understands there has been no attempt to sign Farrell, with his pragmatic style and dominant character a poor fit for Lam’s flamboyant Bears.

But the recruitment search continues, now RugbyPass are reporting Bristol have switched their attention to Glasgow Warriors and Scotland international Tom Jordan, with the club reportedly willing to offer the 26-year-old New Zealand-born back around £300,000 a season, which would be a considerable saving on the £800,000 deal that was reportedly on the table for Smith.

Jordan won his first cap for Scotland against Fiji at Murrayfield two weeks ago, coming off the bench for his clubmate rival Adam Hastings. He then started in the unfamiliar position of full-back against South Africa on Sunday having only just qualified for selection for his adopted nation on residency grounds. Jordan, who can also play at inside centre, is understood to be out of contract with the Scottish Rugby Union in the summer.