Substitute Max Lahiff scores Bristol’s sixth try of the afternoon against London Irish
| Bristol: (26) 40 |
| Try: Morahan, Capon, Genge, Randall, Heenan, Lahiff Disadvantages: MacGinty 5 |
| London Irish: (10) 36 |
| Try: White, Arundell, Jackson, Miller, Van Rensburg Disadvantages: jackson 4 Pen: Jackson |
Undefeated Bristol went top of the Premier League with a 40-36 bonus points win over London Irish.
After Ben White put Irish ahead, Bristol scored four unanswered tries through Luke Morahan, Will Capon, Ellis Genge and Harry Randall in the first half.
Henry Arundell and Paddy Jackson closed the gap to two, but Jake Heenan and Max Lahiff quickly pushed him back out.
Isaac Miller and Bernhard Janse van Rensburg ensured Irish took a point as Bristol moved top of the table.
After finishing 10th last season, Bristol have now won their first three games of the new Premiership season for the first time since 1999.
The hosts had the best of early possession, although it was the Londoners who scored the first points down the board after Arundell’s dummy helped set up White under the post.
A Jackson penalty widened the gap to 10, but it was short-lived when Morahan crossed down the middle in the corner for Bristol after a break. Capon was the closest from a line-out maul before Genge – back in the starting XI – went by on his third try of the season.
Seconds before half-time, White was sent into the Sin-Bin for a high tackle on Randall, and with the clock in red, the scrum half added the fourth of the Bears who appeared to be in control.
However, the Irish were far from out, punishing Bristol for sloppy possession. Arundell ran almost the entire length of the field to score after an interception before Jackson led the hosts back to 26-24 after an off-load from Will Joseph.
Pat Lam made changes and got the reaction needed, with substitutes Heenan and Lahiff crossing from close range to extend the advantage.
Still, the Irish weren’t done and while James Stokes was stopped over the line in the 69th minute, Miller didn’t miss a rolling maul. Van Rensburg followed with four minutes to go and set up a thrilling final as Bristol narrowly defended their third straight win.
Bristol rugby director Pat Lam told ` Radio Bristol:
“We started badly, trailing 10-0, but then worked our way into the lead by half-time.
“I told the lads how we got back in and they talked about trusting our game plan, working our way through and we scored good tries. I said, well, that’s the solution for the second half.
“Unfortunately we put some pressure on them, they got an intercept and we lost another soft try for their second and it put them back in the game.
“[We showed] our character to finish it, and in the end we have five points, which is the most important thing.”
London Ireland head coach Les Kiss told ` Radio London:
“We started really well. I thought we were organised, very ordered but also very clinical and started 10-0.
“From there we had a patch where we just weren’t on it, probably a bit messy, a few loose balls, we weren’t as direct as usual to create the space. That put them on the front foot and then, think Me, we fought our way to halftime.
“In the second half the guys really came out and turned it around. But we probably had what you would call a couple of moments where two rapid-fire attempts from them just turned the game around again, so we’re up a hill again.
“But the boys never gave up. They just kept going and came very close to turning the result around at the end. But the way we started and the way we’re finished, we need to be able to bring more of that into the middle of our game.”
Bristol: Piutau, Morahan, O’Conor, Bedlow, Lane, MacGinty, Randall; Genge, Capon, Sinckler, Holmes, Joyce, Vui, Heenan (c), Bradbury
Substitute: Thacker, Woolmore, Lahiff, Hawkins, Thomas, Uren, Sheedy, Purdy
London Irish: Arundell, Joseph, Rona, Van Rensburg, Hassell-Collins, Jackson, White; Goodrick-Clarke, Miller, Hoskins, Ratuniyarawa, Simmons, Rogerson (c), Pearson, Cunningham-South
Substitute: Vajner, Fischetti, Chawatama, Caulfield, Donnell, Englefield, Stokes, Loader
penalty box: Ben White (39 minutes)
Referee: Tom Foley
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