Malins and Piutau fire Bristol to big win over Gloucester as fans return

Much has happened in the 14 months since Bristol’s returning supporters last watched their local heroes play live. These days the Bears are clear Premiership leaders and remain on course for a home semi-final but, despite the cheerful presence of 3,128 excited fans, this bizarre contest was a reminder that nothing in rugby can ever be entirely delivered to order.

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Against opponents reduced to 14 men inside the first quarter, Bristol were as wasteful as a broken sewage pipe for lengthy periods, contriving to cross the Gloucester line eight times without registering a try. At least the Bears’ five legitimate tries were enough to take them 12 points clear of second-placed Sale but they could – and probably should – have rattled up 70-odd points.

The most glaring self-inflicted howler came when Charles Piutau was caught napping as he eased up in the in-goal area and had the ball knocked from his startled grasp by Kyle Moyle. Amid the dropped balls, forward passes and fractional knock-ons, however, the Bears can at least be consoled that when their rapier-like attacking rugby does click there is currently no one to touch them.

Gloucester, who last won a league game in Bristol four years ago, could also take pride from their defiance in adversity, with the Lions winger Louis Rees-Zammit even forced into emergency service on the flank. Ultimately, though, the best bit was the noise in the stands, a welcome indicator that post-Covid normality is finally within sight.

Despite the reduced congregation, the vocal enthusiasm around the ground was still a genuine joy. “When we walked out it was like a shock, the noise,” said Pat Lam, the Bears’ director of rugby. “It was incredible what our fans did. I started getting a bit emotional when they came out, I’m getting soft, but it was just so wonderful.”

Chris Boyd admitted his Northampton side face an uphill battle to progress into the Premiership semi-finals following an 18-10 defeat against Newcastle at Kingston Park.

In front of a permitted crowd of 1,750 supporters, Saints went into half-time with a share of the spoils despite being penned in their own 22 for much of the opening 40 minutes, with James Grayson and Brett Connon exchanging penalties.

Saints' Tom James and Newcastle's Callum Chick were both sin-binned for deliberate knock-ons before the break, but prop Paul Hill went over for the game's first try in the 50th minute to put the visitors on the front foot.

Adam Radwan and Chidera Obonna responded for the hosts to reduce Northampton to defeat, leaving Boyd's fifth-placed side 11 points off the top four with three games of the regular season to go.

"We had a good three months and we were set up for the top four, but we have let ourselves down and we have three tough games to finish the season off," the Saints director of rugby said.

"If you play like we have for the last couple of weeks then you don't deserve to be the top of any race. We were missing a lot of players tonight and the ones we have brought in have not had the minutes they perhaps needed. We overplayed in the middle of the pitch and we gave away too many soft penalties.

"We had poor skill execution which meant for the first 40 minutes we were fighting and it took a lot out of us. If we'd managed the game better we could have maybe put them under pressure and tried to bring the game home, but we didn't manage that." PA Media

Even the pre-match smell of burgers wafting from the stadium van felt delightfully decadent, a forbidden pleasure with extra onions. Some of the home fans had travelled from as far as north Wales, reflecting the levels of expectancy beginning to surround the Bears. Around 8,000 season tickets have already been sold for next season, by which time all connected with Bristol hope the club will have featured in this season’s Premiership final.

They will need to stop being so profligate, however, to claim the title. After a couple of early penalties from the man of the match Callum Sheedy the tone was set when a stunning counterattack, instigated by Andy Uren and taken on by a surging Semi Radradra, was ruled out because Kyle Sinckler was adjudged to have lost control on his way over.

Rather more obvious was the inevitable red card shown to a penitent Matías Alemanno after Steven Luatua was upended with the type of dangerous double tackle which has thankfully grown rarer in recent times. When Val Rapava-Ruskin soon followed to the bin, reducing the visitors to 13 men, it appeared only a matter of time before Gloucester’s implosion began.

The Bears, though, seemed intent on finding assorted ways not to score until, finally the dam burst 12 minutes before the interval.

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Space opened up invitingly for the alert Sheedy and the fly-half’s lovely reverse flick put Max Malins over for his latest high-class score. The classy England full-back has only limited experience on the wing but already looks entirely at home there.

The odds on Gloucester still being within a single score at the interval at that stage were seriously long. Somehow, though, the Cherry and Whites continued to hang tough, Billy Twelvetrees’ fine kick to the corner setting up decent field position and a fine long ball allowing Santiago Carreras just enough space to squeeze into the left corner.

Again it seemed unlikely to matter as another glorious Bristol attack ended with Piutau sauntering over the line. For whatever reason, however, the full-back fatally relaxed and the retreating Moyle dislodged the ball in the nick of time.

The theme was maintained after the interval, a tiny knock-on in the build-up cancelling out another potential score for Uren and a forward pass from Sheedy to Malins costing the Bears yet another try.

It was almost a novelty act when Chris Vui broke clear and legitimately fed Piutau for a 54th-minute score that brought some relief to his socially distanced audience. To even things up Willi Heinz had a potential Cherry and Whites try ruled out for offside but tries for Ben Earl, Nathan Hughes and the ever-dangerous Radradra eventually delivered the conclusive margin that Bristol’s superiority demanded.