Three go in the bin yet Bears roar on
PAT Lam breathed a huge sigh of relief having seen his Bears threaten to selfdestruct before celebrating victory in a pulsating game.
Bristol had to fight off a tough Irish challenge and shrug off having three players sent to the sin bin in a chaotic end to a first half at Brentford Community Stadium.
But the visitors managed to overcome their disciplinary problems to celebrate a bonus point win in a dynamic contest which saw ten tries and end-to-end rugby, especially in the second half.
Director of rugby Lam enthused: “It was a phenomenal second half effort from the boys. We knew it would be tough going down to 12 men but it ended up as five points. I thought all three were pretty harsh but it’s not about being a victim, it’s about being a fighter.
“Hopefully we can use this as the base to climb up that table.”
Irish, who entered the contest on the back of a fine win at Exeter, were left kicking themselves for not punishing Bears further when they had superior numbers.
Bears cruised into a 19-0 lead with three early tries. Flanker Jake Heenan rose with ball in hand from a driving maul following a well-worked lineout. Then wing Toby Fricker finished off a fine move down the left, taking hooker Jake Kerr’s pass in his stride. Centre Jack Bates supported well when Andy Uren broke clear down the right, and took the return pass to complete the job without an Irish defender in sight.
Callum Sheedy converted the second two but the game turned suddenly as Bristol lost their heads as Irish pushed hard.
Irish had grabbed their opening try through wing James Stokes who took Tom Parton’s pass and raced over.
In quick succession three Bears were sent to the bin and they walked off with 12 men for their halftime chat.
Referee Carley ran out of patience with the visitors who were guilty of a series of penalties, showing Heenan a yellow card for entering the side of a maul. Two minutes later, full-back Charles Piutau joined him for deliberately knocking on and denying Irish a potential try scoring opportunity, sticking out a hand as Ollie HassellCollins waited to catch Parton’s pass.
Then scrum-half Uren went for deliberate offside as Irish tried to spread the ball wide just a few yards from the Bears line.
Hooker Mike Willemse raced over in the right hand corner and Paddy Jackson converted on the stroke of half-time.
Irish were level within a minute of the restart as Bears were caught napping and Parton’s break and excellent offload left captain Matt Rogerson with the simple task of charging over the line. Jackson converted.
The tables began to turn back in Bristol’s favour when Irish were reduced to 14 men with No.8 Albert Tuisue shown a yellow card for a high tackle on counterpart Fitz Harding. Centre Piers O’Conor reasserted Bristol’s lead by reaching out and grounding the ball for the bonus point try under a heap of bodies.
Replacement hooker Harry Thacker charged over for another just a minute after entering the fray while two Sheedy penalties put Bears beyond reach. Centre Terrence Hepetema crossed for a bonus point try for Irish and teammate Kyle Rowe also burst over near the end for Irish before Sheedy’s final penalty completed the Bears win.