Leicester Tigers took maximum points and went top of the Prem before the rest of the weekend fixtures with a 22-16 win away at Bristol at Ashton Gate. Tries from Freddie Steward, Adam Radwan, Ollie Hassell-Collins and Jamie Blamire sealed the bonus-point victory for the Tigers.
Leicester Tigers (Credits: BBC Sport)
Leicester Tigers Dominate Bristol to Climb Top of the Prem
Bristol struck first through a moment of brilliance from Louis Rees-Zammit, who sidestepped his way free, skipped out of a tackle and dived under the posts for his fifth Prem try of the season. It looked like the hosts might ride the momentum of the home crowd.
Leicester hit back on the counter, with Billy Searle kicking wide to find the overlap and Steward touching down in the corner on his 100th Prem start. The momentum truly swung just after the half-hour mark when Bristol’s indiscipline cost them dearly — two high tackles in three minutes saw Matias Moroni and Tom Jordan sent to the sin bin, leaving the hosts down to 13 men.
With space open everywhere, Radwan sprinted in to dot down a kick that caught Bristol napping, giving the Tigers a halftime cushion. Hassell-Collins, who had spilled a certain score before the break, made amends by collecting Searle’s crossfield kick in acres of space to stretch the lead to 17-7.
Searle’s Missed Kicks Keep Bristol Alive
James Williams kept Bristol in the fight with three penalties, narrowing the gap to four points with 20 minutes to go. But Leicester landed the decisive blow when Blamire walked over at the back of a driving maul for the bonus-point score.
The visitors were left to sweat only because of Searle’s wayward boot — he missed three conversions, leaving the door ajar. Williams’ third penalty set up a tense finale, but Leicester held firm to leapfrog Gloucester at the summit, with the Cherry and Whites set to face Northampton on Saturday.
Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam admitted his side could not apply enough pressure: “We end up losing the game by six points, two tries were conceded with 13 men, that made it difficult. When you’re playing a team like Leicester you need scoreboard pressure and line-out pressure and we couldn’t do either.”
The Tigers end the first block of Prem games on a high — top of the table heading into the autumn international break.
Also Read: Leicester Tigers’ 25-0 Second-Half Blitz Stuns Northampton Saints in Rain-Soaked Derby | Prem Talking Points: Leicester Derby Biff, Gloucester’s Statement Win and a Throwback Weekend
Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
