You can’t write Bristol off, they are dangerous

A MATCH between first and 10th in the Premiership might not seem the biggest game of the day. However, that ignores recent history.

Last season the equivalent fixture ended controversially with all sorts of things going on as a dominant Leicester scrum was stymied in obtaining the winning scores by various tactics.

This led Steve Borthwick to accuse opposition head coach Pat Lam of lying and saw Tom Youngs banned for expressing somewhat “forthright” opinions to referee Ian Tempest after the final whistle.

That was also the last time that Leicester lost at home.

Fast forward to this year’s away game against Bristol when Leicester scored the winning try with the clock deep in the red, much to the consternation of the Bristol players after the ball had been deemed to go out of play after a penalty kick to touch.

Add in that Tigers stalwart, the aforementioned Tom Youngs, announced his retirement this week and will be leading out the team to what will undoubtedly be huge acclaim at Mattioli Woods Welford Road and one can see that emotions will be running high – and the first clash between players will probably be heard all over Leicestershire!

Bristol, in spite of that current 10th place position, are an incredibly dangerous side, who last week beat play-off-chasing Gloucester in the final moments of an enthralling match to deal a huge blow to the in-form visitors.

No one could write them off doing the same to Leicester, who need two more wins to guarantee a home semi-final in the play-offs.

Given that it’s no surprise to see Borthwick select close to his strongest available starting 15.

Guy Porter gets the opportunity to fill the problem inside centre berth in the absence of injured Dan Kelly, while Chris Ashton is given the opportunity to break the all-time Premiership try-scoring record from the start.

And there is the mouth-watering prospect of Nemani Nadolo to cause havoc from the bench against a tiring defence.

While Leicester should win, such is the way that this Bristol side plays that it has every chance of beating anyone on their day.

The key for Leicester will be to make sure that this is anything but Bristol’s day and that Tom Youngs’ retirement is marked by a victory for his beloved club.