Bristol Bears 52
Exeter Chiefs 38
Mark Stevens at Ashton Gate
ASHTON Gate, once the stage for Exeter Chiefs’ greatest triumph and a venue where they have so often thrived in the past, was instead the site of a brutal mauling as Bristol Bears tore through their rivals in ruthless fashion.
In a rampant display of attacking rugby from start to finish, Pat Lam’s side not only closed the gap on Bath at the top of the Gallagher Premiership, but in the process exposed yet more worrying signs around the current make-up of this Chiefs outfit.
All season the Chiefs coaches have talked about their squad, particularly the younger element, learning from their experiences. This was, however, the toughest of on-field lessons.
Just this week they have instigated change, including a different role for Ali Hepher, as well as the promotion of Rob Hunter to head coach. A handful of new recruits have either signed - or will sign - ahead of next season, so there is certainly reason for hope, as Hunter himself eluded in great detail to at the final whistle
In the here and now, though, the Chiefs - who saw their only chance of silverware this season evaporate last Sunday in the Premiership Rugby Cup final to Bath - have to salvage something. The goal, it seems, has to be to try and finish outside of the bottom two the division.
Next weekend’s clash at home to Newcastle Falcons is vital in that quest, but they will need to improve considerably in the next seven days.
It’s true to say the Falcons will not have anywhere near as much flight about them as the Bears demonstrated here, but with Steve Diamond as their leader, he will no doubt have them revved up to the max for what is nothing more than a clash of the also-rans at this time.
Bristol, on the other hand, are running wild, playing an expansive, all-court game that is challenging the very best amongst English rugby’s elite teams. By the close they had run in eight tries, but it could easily have been more.
Winger Jack Bates helped himself to a hat-trick, whilst there was also a brace for James Williams. Alongside them, Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Harry Randall and Steven Luatua all got in on the scoring act in a display that augurs well for the remainder of the season.
The Chiefs had their moments, particularly in the first half, where they grabbed themselves a try bonus through scores from Martin Moloney, Henry Slade and Josh Hodge.
Club captain Jack Yeandle and Will Rigg added scores in the second half as defences began to tire, but that was nothing more than a consolation for the visitors, who played for 50 minutes with an extra man, this after former Exeter forward Santiago Grondona has been sent off for a head-on-head clash with Moloney.
As for the contest itself, the first quarter was literally insane, producing seven tries, the first of which came inside 90 seconds as Bates worked his way over in the corner as the hosts ruthlessly exposed.
The Chiefs response, though, was swift, Moloney grabbing his first-ever Premiership score when he picked a lovely line to run through the heart of the Bears defence.
However, what followed in the next ten minutes will, no doubt, go down in history as first the Bears struck again, Williams racing over after the Chiefs failed to deal with the restart; only for Slade - on his return from international duty - to follow suit at the other end, finishing off a pass from Hodge.
Having failed to deal with the previous restart, the Chiefs were again exposed, fly-half Ben Coen beaten to the hanging ball by a charging Janse van Rensburg, who leapt above the debutant, before dotting down unopposed.
The scoring wasn’t done there, Williams grabbing the bonus point score when he brushed aside Coen, only for the Chiefs to counter at the other end when Jenkins inched his way over from close range.
It was pulsating, end-to-end stuff, but with defence optional, so the scores continued to flow in a record-breaking first half which in the end yielded 64 points, Bates, Hodge and Randall all getting in on the act.
If that was not enough entertainment, a thumping, yet legal, hit from Vilami Mata on Slade saw the Exeter star exit stage left after he failed a HIA, while Grondona joined him on the sidelines after referee Karl Dickson showed him a red card for his hit on Moloney.
As expected, the second half didn’t quite live up to the same heights of entertainment, but the scoring didn’t stop there.
Veteran Luatua extended the home lead eight minutes into the half when he worked his way over from a simple pick-and-go plan. Then Bates weighed in for his hat-trick, the winger again showing a clean pair of heels to the Exeter defence to take his side past the half century mark.
To their credit, the Chiefs went down with a fight, late scores for both Yeandle and Rigg ensuring they finished with a flourish, but the margin of difference was still too much and it was the Bears who headed home the happier, toasting their derby day delight.
Bristol Bears: Rich Lane (Ben Elizalde 76); Jack Bates (Siva Naulago 77, Benhard Janse van Rensburg, James Williams (Kalaveti Ravouvou 56-67), Kalaveti Ravouvou (Steven Luatua 32); Harry Byrne (Ben Elizalde 65-76); Harry Randall (Kieran Marmion 61); Jake Woolmore (Yann Thomas 73), Gabriel Oghre (Harry Thacker 48), George Kloska (Max Lahiff 48); James Dun, Joe Owen (Josh Caulfield 61); Santiago Grondona, Fitz Harding (capt), Viliami Mata.
Tries: Bates (3), Williams (2), Janse van Rensburg, Randall, Luatua; Conversions: Byrne (5)
Red Card: Grondona
Yellow Card: Naulago
Exeter Chiefs: Dan John (Harvey Skinner 45); Paul Brown-Bampoe, Henry Slade (Ben Hammersley 27), Will Rigg, Josh Hodge; Ben Coen, Tom Cairns (Niall Armstrong 58); Will Goodrick-Clarke (Kwenzo Blose 40), Max Norey (Jack Yeandle 40), Jimmy Roots (Josh Iosefa-Scott 10-21, 40); Dafydd Jenkins (capt), Christ Tshiunza (Lewis Pearson 63); Martin Moloney (Lewis Pearson 30-37, Kane James 50-58, 69), Richard Capstick, Greg Fisilau.
Tries: Moloney, Slade, Jenkins, Hodge, Yeandle, Rigg; Conversions: Slade, Hodge (3)
Referee: Karl Dickson
Attendance: 20,408