Bristol Bears deliver statement win as they spoil Harlequins' Big Game

Ellis Genge showed his England class to help Bristol Bears rampage to a crushing 40-14 victory over Harlequins at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham to keep them in touching distance of the play-off pace setters.

The powerhouse prop was at his destructive best, grabbing one of the six tries and making sure the showcase contest at the home of English rugby was a nightmare for the hosts. He charged over for a fine 50-metre score in the second half.

Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit was at his best in a performance which left Pat Lam purring over a thumping victory.

The Bears rampaged to a 26-0 lead and had the bonus point firmly in place by the break.

Bristol drew early blood with their first real forage towards the hosts’ line. They pressed Quins back on their heels and Tom Jordan’s looping pass out to the left flank found Kalaveti Ravouvou.

The Fijian grittd his teeth, pumped his legs and powered through Harlequins’ last line of defence to dive over for the opening try.

Jordan provided the pass which stretched the home defence again in the 26th minute. The passage led to Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Ravouvou providing lock Joe Batley the chance to force his way over for a finely worked second try.

The visitors had growled their way over for a third try before the break as Quins began to crumble and another impressive attack saw hooker Gabriel Oghre burst across the line, which Jordan converted.

Rees-Zammit won a foot race with Cadan Murley to dive on the ball and ground it behind his own line to deny the hosts their first try.

But while Quins were all huff and puff and no finishing substance, the Bears were in devastating mood as it was left to Rees-Zammit to finish the first half in style. A fine break and chip through saw him first to gather the ball and race over the line for a superb individual score.

Jordan applied the conversion and Quins strolled off at the break with a mountain to climb.

It became even tougher when hooker Jack Walker was sin-binned for deliberate offside with the visitors on the prowl again three minutes into the second half.

Moments later, flanker Santiago Grondona surged over for a fifth try and normal service had resumed.

The Bears were reduced to 14 men when fly-half Jordan was sin-binned for spoiling a Quins attacking maul.

Argentine wing Rodrigo Isgro lifted home spirits with a try on the hour, with Marcus Smith converting.

But it was short-lived as Genge, who returned to the field after being replaced when Jake Woolmore went off for an HIA, burst clear for a sixth Bristol try.

The away side lost centre James Williams to a yellow card and Quins finished strongly to make the scoreline less painful as Sam Smith dotted down, but the game was over as a contest.

Harlequins: 15 Nick David, 14 Cassius Cleaves, 13 Oscar Beard, 12 Luke Northmore, 11 Cadan Murley (c), 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Will Porter, 1 Fin Baxter, 2 Jack Walker, 3 Harry Williams, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 6 Zach Carr, 7 Jack Kenningham, 8 Chandler Cunningham-South

Replacements : 16 Sam Riley, 17 Will Hobson, 18 Pedro Delgado, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Will Evans, 21 Lucas Friday, 22 Ben Waghorn, 23 Rodrigo Isgro

Bristol Bears: 15 Louis Rees-Zammit, 14 Aidan Boshoff, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Kieran Marmion, 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 3 Lovejoy Chawatama, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 5 Joe Batley, 6 Joe Owen, 7 Santiago Grondona, 8 Fitz Harding (c)

Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 George Kloska, 19 George Taylor, 20 Benjamin Grondona, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Sam Worsley, 23 Noah Heward

Referee : Anthony Woodthorpe

Assistant referees: Adam Leal & James Clarke

TMO: Dean Richards

Bristol Bears deliver statement win as they spoil Harlequins’ Big Game

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