Playoff dreams alive: Bristol Bears snatch crucial win at Gloucester

Bristol Bears kept themselves firmly in the play-off picture in the Gallagher Premiership as they came from behind to defeat rivals Gloucester 33-24 at a packed-out Kingsholm.

Magnus Bradbury’s double, plus scores for Fitz Harding, Gabriel Oghre and Benhard Janse van Rensburg, were the highlights as Pat Lam’s side maintained their impressive run of form.

Gloucester – who had led 24-19 at the break thanks in the main to scores from Josh Hathaway, Santiago Carreras and Adam McBurney – simply could not cope with the second-half onslaught provided by the visiting Bears.

With both sides coming into the contest on the back of notable wins the previous week, it was Gloucester who set the early attacking tone against their local rivals.

Carreras saw an early penalty chance drift wide, before he was on target with the extras to the game’s opening try which arrived just minutes later when winger Hathaway latched onto his own chip over the top to dot down in the nick of time.

Home cheers, however, proved short-lived as the Bears clawed themselves level in an instance, Harding finishing off good approach work involving Steven Luatua, Ellis Genge and Janse van Rensburg, whose looped pass allowed his skipper to cruise over for the score converted by AJ MacGinty.

It was end-to-end stuff from both sides as they traded blows in attack, but it was the hosts who gave themselves some much-needed breathing space as they hit the Bears with two tries in the space of three minutes.

Carreras profited for the first, intercepting a pass from MacGinty to race in unopposed from deep inside his own 22, before hooker McBurney added a third when he rounded off a slick home move that had seen Chris Harris and Max Llewellyn combine to deadly effect in midfield.

Despite the deficit, the Bears were still fiercely competitive and hauled themselves back into the contest when Oghre was able to power his way over by the home posts following a burst through the heart of the Gloucester defensive line.

A penalty from Carreras just past the half-hour mark allowed the Cherry & Whites to extend their lead back to 10 points, only for the Bears to once again pounce, this time through Bradbury, who was able to squeeze over in the corner following an initial burst from Harding and then smart follow-up play from Gabriel Ibitoye.

The score, plus a crucial try-saving tackle from Max Malins on Freddie Clarke, had given the Bears a real lifeline to take into the second half and they looked to build on that quickly after the restart. Malins threatened with a trademark burst through the middle, whilst Noah Heward saw a good chance spurned with a knock-on just yards from the Gloucester line.

For all Bristol’s huff and puff in attack, Lam’s side were struggling to turn possession and territory into points in front of watching England head coach Steve Borthwick.

Stubborn Gloucester resistance, combined with some elementary errors in attack, were proving costly for the Bears, but eventually their pressure paid dividends when Bradbury was able to find his way over from close range. MacGinty converted to put his side in front for the first time in the match.

It was just reward for their efforts and the Bears wrapped the game up with just five minutes remaining when Janse van Rensburg brushed aside the attentions of a Gloucester rival to race over for the converted score.