Bristol are wild about Harry
WHAT a difference a day makes. Heading into the weekend, Bristol could still have been relegated.
But yesterday’s stunning win at Leicester, coupled with Newcastle’s defeat by Northampton on Friday, means they are now looking up at a top-six finish.
The win came courtesy of a last-gasp try from former Tiger Harry Thacker. Pat Lam, the Bristol boss, reserved special praise for his hooker, likening him to Test All Blacks and tipping him for England honours.
‘He has some qualities that a lot of people don’t,’ Lam said of Thacker. ‘He would fit in very well in Super Rugby, you look at Dane Cole, Codie Taylor, he’s in that bracket. I don’t want to put a jinx on it but I think he’s good enough to go further.’
Leicester face another week in purgatory. Jordan Olowofela’s first-half score looked as though it could open the floodgates, but the Tigers failed to seize momentum. Their only other points came from George Ford’s boot.
Bristol kept in the game through tries from the impressive Callum Sheedy and Dan Thomas before Thacker then struck the killer blow.
‘It’s sod’s law,’ said Tigers boss Geordan Murphy. BILLY VUNIPOLA led the way as Saracens moved closer to securing a home Premiership final and dented Wasps’ play-off hopes.
Vunipola, the England No8, turned in a turbo-charged carrying performance to put Saracens on the brink of claiming a top-two finish and edge them nearer to their seventh Premiership final.
Saracens sprinted into a 28-7 lead by the break and hardly gave Wasps a look-in in the first 40 minutes.
Scrum-half Ben Spencer got the ball rolling with an interception try from halfway after four minutes. Welsh wing Liam Williams and Aussie lock Will Skelton also scored tries, while Owen Farrell kicked 16 points.
Fly-half Lima Sopoaga and Nathan Hughes both went over for Wasps but it was all too late.