Connacht and Munster are fighting to sign Bristol Bears.

Bristol Bears centre Piers O’Conor, who was at the centre of the team’s attack when they won the Gallagher Premiership in 2020–21, appears likely to go to the United Rugby Championship the following season as two Irish provinces are interested in his services.

According to RugbyPass and RugbyInsideLine, Connacht is leading the chase for O’Conor, who would team up with former Bears favourite Joe Joyce. Munster, on the other hand, is reportedly aiming to bring O’Conor in to replace another former Bristol centre, Antoine Frisch.

Even though he is only 27 years old, O’Conor has already appeared in over 120 games for the Bears after joining them from Ealing Trailfinders in 2018. The former Wasps back, who can play full-back, on the wing, or in the centre, was recognised as a member of the league’s official Dream Team of the Season and won player of the month when Bristol won the Gallagher Premiership in 2020–21. O’Conor is eligible to play rugby for Australia, New Zealand, England, and Ireland at the international level. He has represented Ireland at the U19 and England U20 levels, and in 2019 he was called up to play for the senior England team at Twickenham against the Barbarians in an uncapped game.

However, as Bears director of rugby Pat Lam moved to sign two unexpected free agents in the summer—French international Virimi Vakatawa and Benhard Janse vans Rensburg—O’Conor’s playing minutes have drastically decreased this season. Vakatawa was without a job after Racing 92 terminated his contract due to a cardiac condition, but he was cleared to play by an independent board of cardiologists, and this coming weekend, the powerhouse from Fiji is scheduled to make his 23rd appearance for Bristol. After his former club, London Irish, went into bankruptcy, South African Janse vans Rensburg, who was nominated for the Gallagher Premiership player of the month award for March, was hired on a multi-year contract and has since developed into one of the

most important players t the club. So despite having sparkled alongside Semi Radradra, Lam looks to have moved on from O’Conor with his departure from Ashton Gate seemingly imminent having last run out in a friendly away at Bedford Blues during the Six Nations period.