Momentum is key for Bears, says McPhillips
BRISTOL Bears failed to hit the heights expected of them as a strong side narrowly defeated an inexperienced Exeter Chiefs lineup in the Premiership Rugby Cup, writes John Evely.
Having named a relatively powerful XV for the trip to Sandy Park, the Bears were looking to build on back-to-back bonus point wins in the Gallagher Premiership.
Their performance was patchy at best, however, as the backlined struggled to spark, but five tries and a win in Devon, along with debuts for six new players, left assistant coach Conor McPhillips reflectining on the positives.
Speaking after the match, he said: “We talked about momentum coming into this game, it is a buzz word at the moment.
“We came into the game off the back of two Premiership wins and it is important we maintain that momentum and the boys are in a good place going into next week.”
Bristol were caught cold with prop James Kenny powering over from close range after just four minutes before fly-half Jack Walsh finished a 70m counter-attack after Sean O’Brien picked off a pass from Ioan Lloyd to put the hosts 14-0 up.
However, the Bears went back to basics and scored two tries in the closing moments of the first half,
EXETER CHIEFS ............ 27 BRISTOL BEARS ............ 33
the first a penalty try after their maul driving maul was brought down illegally – with Chiefs prop Kenny sin binned.
Moments later, Sam Bedlow crashed over the line after taking a brilliant offload from Dan Thomas.
Although the Chiefs went back in front during the second half, with Walsh scoring a second try, the Bears eventually proved to strong with Will Capon scoring from a drive maul, Thomas touching down in the corner, and Macenzzie Duncan, making his debut from the bench, showing good strength to cross from a maul close in.
Exeter: Hodge; Relton, O’Brien, Whitten, John; Walsh, Maunder; Kenny, Burrows, Nixon, D Jenkins, McCauley, Pearson, Hinkley, Tuima. Replacements: Wyatt for Whitten (77), Cairns for Maunder (62), Poole for Burrows (52), Southworth for Nixon (42), Teague for McCauley (62), Hosking for Hinkley (65). Not Used: Schickerling, Barton.
Scorers – Tries: Kenny, Walsh 2. Cons:
Pens: Hodge 2.
Sin Bin: Kenny (35).
Bristol: Morahan; Bailey, Bates, Frisch, Fricker; Lloyd, Strang; Woolmore, Thacker, Armstrong, Attwood, Hawkins, Jeffries, D Thomas, Hughes. Replacements: Powell for Morahan (64), Lennon for Bailey (53), Bedlow for Lloyd (28), Challenger for Woolmore (66), Capon for Thacker (56), Benz-Salomon for Armstrong (59), Holmes for Attwood (56), Duncan for Jeffries (64). Scorers – Tries: Penalty, Bedlow, Capon, D Thomas, Duncan. Cons: Lloyd, Bedlow 3.
Sin Bin: D Thomas (44).
Attendance: 8,650.
Referee: Michael Hudson (RFU).
Hodge 3.