Bristol midfielder Holly Aitchison sees underdog status in the final as an opportunity

Premiership Women’s Rugby Final: Gloucester-Hartpury v Bristol Bears

Venue: Sandy Park, Exeter Date: Saturday, June 22 You start: 15:00 BST

Covering: Watch on the BBC Sport website and BBC iPlayer and listen to commentary on BBC Radio Gloucestershire and BBC Radio Bristol (via FM, digital, BBC Sounds and online).

Bristol Bears flyhalf Holly Aitchison said the club will use their underdog status to their advantage when they face defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury in the Women’s Premiership final on Saturday.

England international Aitchison, 26, joined Bristol from Saracens at the start of the season, having previously won a Premiership title with the London club.

“When I was at Sarries we were never really in that position, everyone expected us to win and it’s a really interesting comparison in terms of the mentality we found,” Aitchison said.

“This group is really humble, so they revel in that underdog mentality and I think it really suits us.

“If it’s going to be something positive for us, and I don’t think we’ve been too affected or worried that people are going to call us that, and I think it’s a huge opportunity.”

Bristol finished third in the league table, 18 points behind Gloucester-Hartpury, who have lost just once all season.

However, Bristol became the first team ever to win an away semi-final when they came from behind to beat Saracens 29-21, a game Aitchison said gave him new confidence.

“Everybody understands that we’re capable of doing things like that and I think it gave us the belief that we can take it a step further this weekend,” she said.