Match Report: Bristol Bears 52 – 38 Exeter Chiefs

Exeter Chiefs were defeated by Bristol Bears in a 14-try, fiery clash at Ashton Gate as the Gallagher Premiership returned for Round 12.

Bristol seemed to possess the upper hand for the majority of the encounter, but a rejuvenated Chiefs squad coming in from the Premiership Rugby Cup campaign showed a real fight to stay in the match right to the dying moments.

It was a breathless start to the encounter which saw 10 tries scored in the first half alone – six to the hosts and four for Chiefs.

Putting the ball through quick phases with soft handling in the Exeter 22, winger Jack Bates took the pass in the corner and crossed for Bristol’s first try two minutes after the whistle with Harry Byrne adding the conversion.

Byrne’s fellow Irishman, Martin Moloney, got Chiefs’ first on five minutes. With Bristol anticipating a spiral pass, they pulled their defensive ranks wide and Moloney saw a chance. Darting through a gap, he sprinted for the line and dotted down beneath the posts, giving Henry Slade the simple conversion.

Bristol struck back immediately as, from the restart, they played with pace to get centre James Williams onto the ball and he took no second asking to break through the 22 to score.

On his first appearance of the season, Dan John was instrumental in Chiefs’ second score. Using his support line of Paul Brown-Bampoe, John got Chiefs into the Bristol 22. Recycling ball, the passes found Slade in the wide channels who in turn found a slither of daylight to ground the ball in at the corner flag.

Commitment from Benhard Janse van Rensburg on the restart saw Bristol score a third with only 10 minutes on the clock. Leaping into the air, the centre snatched the ball and ran in the try before the Chiefs’ defence could even catch their breath. Byrne added the conversion.

The bonus point score was secure for the hosts with five minutes later. Again, it was the biproduct of quick attacking work in the 22 that Chiefs were slow to react to with Williams touching down for his second.

Dafydd Jenkins took charge of scoring the Chiefs’ third as they edged closer to securing a bonus point of their own before half time. Brown-Bampoe used his footwork to breach deep into Bristol territory but was brought down inches short of the line.

Tom Ciarns recycled the ball to Jenkins for the carry off the breakdown and the Welshman battered over for the score which Hodge converted.

Bristol winger Bates got a second try as he ran clean through the Chiefs defence from halfway. His direct opposition, Hodge, secured a try of his own a handful of minutes later. Chipping ahead for himself in the five-metre channel, the Chiefs man collected the bouncing ball and ran in the try.

As he slotted the conversion of his own score, Santiago Grondona was shown a red card for Bristol when, after a TMO check, his tackle on Moloney in the build-up to the try was deemed head contact with a high degree of danger and no mitigating factors.

Despite being a man down, Bristol saw out the half on the ascendancy. Working with repeated advantages in the Chiefs 22, scrum half Harry Randall burrowed his way over the line beneath the posts. Byrne’s simple slot of the conversion brought action to a close.

Half-time: Bears 40 – 24 Chiefs

Starting the second half in the same fashion as the first, Bristol struck first on the scoreboard. Chiefs had done well to hold up the first attacking barrage as they halted Bristol’s driving maul but when Stephen Luatua went for the pick-and-go, the veteran was able to muscle over.

Just shy of the hour mark, Bristol breached the 50-point barrier. With a penalty on the Chiefs’ 10 metre line, the Exeter defenders anticipated a kick to touch and turned to make their way steadily back. Bristol took advantage, quickly tapping the penalty and sending Bates over the line with the final pass on the touchline to seal his hattrick.

Chiefs got two more tries to their name in close succession in the final quarter of the match. The first, scored by Jack Yeandle, was a biproduct of a great interchange between the hooker and Jenkins. The Welshman forced his way over the gain-line before popping a one-handed offload to Yeandle to complete the score which Hodge promptly converted.

The second was secured by Will Rigg who, having found a second wind at the death of the clash, jinked and spun his way around and past defenders to place the ball down. Hodge’s conversion on 75 minutes was the final points of the match.

While not the result Chiefs would have hoped for, it was a game flowing with intent, and it secured an all-important bonus point in an incredibly competitive Premiership table.

Full-time: Bears 52 – 38 Chiefs

Bristol: R Lane; J Bates, B Janse van Rensburg, J Williams (Ravouvou 55’, Williams 67’), K Ravouvou (Luatua 31’); H Byrne (Elizalde 64’), H Randall (Marmion 60’); J Woolmore (Thomas 71’), G Oghre (Thacker 47’), G Kloska (Lahiff 47’), J Dun, J Owen (Caulfield 60’), S Grondona, F Harding (c), V Mata.

Replacements: Naulago

Tries: Bates 3, Williams 2, Janse van Rensburg, Randall, Luatua Conversions: Byrne 6

Red card: Santiago Grondona (29’)

Chiefs: D John (Skinner 44’); P Brown-Bampoe, H Slade (Hammersley 26’), W Rigg, J Hodge; B Coen, T Cairns (Armstrong 57’); W Goodrick-Clarke (Blose 40’), M Norey (Yeandle 40’), J Roots (Iosefa-Scott 9’, Roots 20’, Iosefa-Scott 40’), D Jenkins (c), C Tshiunza (Pearson 62’), M Moloney (Pearson 30’, Moloney 36’, James 49’, Moloney 57’, James 69’), R Capstick, G Fisilau.

Tries: Moloney, Slade, Jenkins, Hodge, Yeandle, Rigg Conversions: Slade, Hodge 3

Referee: Karl Dickson