People / My Bristol Favourites
My Bristol Favourites: Steven Luatua
Born in Auckland, Steven Luatua has played for Bristol Bears since 2017, previously captaining the club and already securing legendary status.
Primarily operating as a blindside flanker, he has represented New Zealand, Samoa and the Barbarians.
@bristolbearsrugby Dive into Steven Luatua’s game v Bath 🐻🎤 #bristolbears #rugby ♬ original sound – Bristol Bears
is needed now More than ever
Bristol Bears are playing Leicester at Ashton Gate on Sunday.
Here are Steven’s top-five Bristol favourites:
Horfield Common
Steven Luatua enjoys walking his dog Quinn on Horfield Common – photo: Martin Booth
“I love Horfield Common because it’s family-friendly. The community’s great there. I’ve spent a lot of time there with the family and I trained my dog Quinn there; I say trained her, but she has her ears missing most of the time.”
Cow & Sow
Cow & Sow have restaurants on Whiteladies Road and Queen Square, and on matchdays in the Heineken Lounge at Ashton Gate – photo: Cow & Sow
“My wife and I love Cow & Sow. We used to live on Whiteladies Road so it was like a comfort for us. My favourite dish is the humble steak. I have mine medium so that my wife can have some. If it too rare, she can’t have any.”
Ashton Court
The 5th hole on Ashton Court’s Plateau par 3 course – photo: Martin Booth
“I do love Ashton Court, especially as a part-time golfer. They’ve got a little par 3 course in the middle there and we’d take the dog for a walk and play some golf. Maybe for you English, you see deer all the time, but there’s also a side of Ashton Court where there are so many deer there. It’s amazing. Coming from New Zealand, I was like ‘Wow, I don’t see this every day’.”
FED
FED opened on Gloucester Road in 2018 and is now located a few doors up from its original premises – photo: Martin Booth
“One of our favourites as a family is FED on Gloucester Road. We love the food there and they’re great to my dog which always gets extra bonus points. FED’s right up there.”
Ashton Gate
The crowd at Ashton Gate keeps Steven Luatua “trucking along” – photo: Bristol Bears
“Coming to Bristol, I wasn’t too familiar with what the rugby scenario was going to be like here but it’s been amazing. When I hear the crowd cheering, I get the goosebumps feeling. That’s a good sign I’m still enjoying my rugby. For Ashton Gate, to be able to give me that feeling most weeks, that’s why I’m still trucking along. A core memory for me is when my daughter ran out onto the pitch with me. The crowd was cheering and I whispered to her: ‘They’re cheering for you.’ Her face lit up.”
Main photo: Bristol Bears
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