Leicester muscle too much for Bears
A BRUTAL 15 minutes of second-half muscle from Leicester Tigers dismantled Bristol at Welford Road.
The Bears slumped from a 17-15 lead to be 1736 down in the face of an onslaught which brought Tigers three tries.
Captain Julian Montoya finished off two forward charges to be followed by Handre Pollard capping another impressive afternoon by racing onto his own chip in the Bristol 22.
Bristol were already beginning to wilt when captain Steven Luatua was sin-binned for a lineout offence following Montoya’s first try. By the time he returned Leicester had taken a firm hold through the hooker’s second and a beautifully executed score by Pollard which was part of his 19-point haul.
Bristol did gain a consolation from busy scrumhalf Harry Randall, but they will rue missing out on first-half chances and having a seemingly good try by lock Magnus Bradbury ruled out at the start of the second half.
Referee Matt Carley ruled that Bradbury had not released the ball when falling to an ankle-tapped tackle from Anthony Watson. A frustrated Bristol boss Pat Lam felt it was a good try though overall he admitted his team only had themselves to blame for poor discipline which contributed to Leicester’s resurgence.
Bristol, despite missing out on Bradbury’s break, still grabbed the lead through wing Gabriel Ibitoye’s try in the 49th minute which AJ MacGinty improved. However, from then on, for a period of 15 minutes it was Leicester at their best; building pressure and clinically taking their chances. To round off a win by six tries to three, substitute hooker Charlie Clare scored Leicester’s final try in the last minute.
This lunchtime kick off was played out in wind, rain and bright sun which made for a stuttering first half that finished in Leicester leading 15-10 due to their better finishing.
Bristol did make the more composed start despite losing flanker Sam Lewis to a leg injury in the sixth minute.
A midfield muddle led to a break by centre James Williams putting ex-Tiger Harry Thacker in the clear. MacGinty converted. It took Leicester 10 minutes to settle themselves and establish the pressure through a series of forward charges.
There’s no better player than Ben Youngs to orchestrate such attacks and his show-and-go earned him a try, the No.9 helped by the dummy run of Montoya which distracted the Bristol cover. Pollard added the conversion and a penalty from the fly-half gave Leicester a 10-7 lead after 24 minutes.
Leicester’s second try was clinically created by yet more forward pressure. The grip allowed Pollard to beautifully pick out Watson in the right corner and the wing made no mistake in dodging the Bristol cover. Pollard’s conversion hit the post and Leicester’s lead of 15-7 was cut three minutes before the break when MacGinty added a simple three-pointer.
Bristol, like the first half, started the second period crisply and could easily have scored a further try through the unlucky Bradbury besides the one awarded to Ibitoye.
The good try stemmed from Pollard having his kick on halfway charged down by Luatua which left the enterprising Williams to pick up the loose ball and kick on. Ibitoye won the sprint to touch down and Bristol led 17-15 when MacGinty converted. However, it sparked Leicester’s brutal response.
The forceful Montoya twice emerged from mauls to grab scores while Pollard judged his moment to perfection. It was all too much for Bristol even though never-say-die Randall scored their third.