Bristol prop George Kloska: I suffocated in a scrum

Telegraph

2 days ago

After a blistering first half of the season followed by a sticky period, Bristol Bears are taking inspiration from Rory McIlroy as the climax of the Premiership campaign comes into view.
Pat Lam has spoken about the immortal line from caddie Harry Diamond prior to a nerve-shredding play-off hole at Augusta: 'Well pal, we'd have taken this on Monday morning.'
It is a fitting parable. Despite four losses in their past five league games, Bristol will make the top four if they beat Harlequins this weekend. Then, who knows? But they could also look closer to home at the story of George Kloska.
Some players, even fellow tightheads such as Asher Opoku-Fordjour, rip through the ranks. Others, like Kloska, require perseverance. At the age of 25, in his fourth position and after various loan spells in different divisions, this has been an impressive campaign of consolidation.
'At under-14, there were always DPP [developing player programme], silver and gold groups,' Kloska says of his humble beginning in the Bristol academy. 'I was always DPP. You'd always look at the silver and golds, because they'd get full stash, and feel jealous.'
In those days, Kloska was a back-rower. He switched to hooker at 18 before a brief switch to loosehead – 'I think I did one live scrum and they were like 'nah'' – and finally the opposite side of the front row.
'Patience is the word for it,' Kloska says. 'When prop was suggested, I just thought 'whatever I can do to stay in the thick of it'. John Afoa and Pat suggested tighthead and I did find that it suited me.
'I liked the aggression and the fight of it. At scrum time, I like the mini-scrap in that moment. Yeah, you need to be technical; that's the majority of it. But you also need that raw strength to make it work. It holds you accountable. There's no hiding in a scrum and I quite like that.'
Old Redcliffians, based in the suburb of Brislington, was the first of several loan destinations in Kloska's first year of senior rugby.
'Every game was an experience,' he recalls. 'I didn't realise you could be suffocated in there. It was mental. You'd come out a bit starsy [seeing stars] and then go: 'OK, good to go again.'
'Even though it's not the top league, you're scrummaging against ex-Premiership regulars and some freaks – especially in National Two. Every game was a good test.
'I think it was Canterbury away with Old Reds as a hooker where I got pinned, I don't know how, and for about 10 seconds, I couldn't breathe. When some of our young boys go on loan, I'm thinking it's the best thing for them, just to get banged up by some angry blokes, man.
'If you come straight through as a young player, that's class. But I wouldn't change a thing about my journey.'
As a local product, Kloska feels pride when he runs out at Ashton Gate. That makes the hard yards seem worthwhile.
At some point in the 1980s, his father and uncles formed an all-Kloska front row for Old Bristolians: 'I would have hated to scrummage against them.' Prior to that, Kloska's paternal grandparents emigrated from Poland and Ireland, respectively, to meet in Bristol.
Kloska was called up to the England A squad in February and started the win over Ireland A in his home city. Without any representative honours during his age-grade career, he found the shirt presentation an unfamiliar experience.
Wee need to talk about this hidden inside ball: Ollie Hassell-Collins arriving on the right shoulder of George Kloska and cutting through a forward pod to slice the defence. Very smart two-phase strike.
England A doing an Ireland on Ireland A. pic.twitter.com/n3blIuqY5f
— Charlie Morgan (@CharlieFelix) February 24, 2025
💬 "It was class and good to do it here."
A 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗗 day for @GeorgeKloska 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/f4OhUS2ya9
— Bristol Bears 🐻 (@BristolBears) February 23, 2025
The game itself was highly enjoyable, with a pleasant bonus. 'We stayed in a nice hotel at the bottom of Park Street,' he says. 'I'd never stay there otherwise.'
The influence of Ellis Genge is another poignant topic for Kloska, who paints a vivid picture of how important it is for the Bears to have a Bristolian figurehead.
'I really see him as a role model in every way off the field,' Kloska says of Genge. 'On it, as a tighthead, I scrum against him in training. It'd be a lie to say I enjoy that.
'There was one session when I first came. I was still developing and, on the bind, as you can imagine, he has a strong-a-- neck. I pushed and, just before the set, I didn't feel in a safe place, so I pulled out. It's a wonder my neck didn't come out.
'He's just a different beast, and there's a special way he can teach you things. From the perspective of what it should mean to play for Bristol and the passion he brings makes him a bloke you want to play for.'
Last month, as the Bears watched the British and Irish Lions squad announcement together, the popularity of Genge was reinforced.
'It went off when his name was called out,' Kloska says. 'I hope he doesn't mind me saying this, but I was looking at him and you could see how nervous he was.
'It's just interesting to see a bloke on top of his game who is nervous, even though he's been playing the way he has. It's just pride, man. It's the fact that he's one of our own and he's made it to the top. It's brilliant to see.'
Kloska would have been close to England's training squad for their tour of Argentina and the United States, yet is phlegmatic about missing out: 'That I was even in the conversation was crazy to me, and I'll use it as motivation.'
The transition from loosehead to tighthead needed Kloska to swell from 112kg (17st 9lb) to 120kg (18st 12lb), which he did by following a nutritionist's advice to 'fit three meals in between the three you already eat'. As well as a reliable and robust scrummager, he wants to be regarded as an aggressive carrier who is comfortable on the ball.
After a 'sketchy few weeks', the dream of a Premiership title – and a victory parade through Filton, Knowle West and the rest of Bristol – remains alive.
'This is my sixth or seventh proper season and there were two years in a row where I had 14 games as 24th man,' Kloska says. 'You're happy to be amongst it, but you want to be on the pitch. The fact that I'm there does make me proud of myself, yeah.'
Hanging in there and helping Bristol's cause whatever the role; it is all Kloska has ever wanted.