{"id":36597,"date":"2025-04-20T21:22:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T21:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/36597\/"},"modified":"2025-04-20T21:22:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T21:22:12","slug":"bristol-19-36-leicester-bears-punch-themselves-out-as-michael-cheikas-tigers-overtake-them-in-second-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/36597\/","title":{"rendered":"Bristol 19-36 Leicester: Bears punch themselves out as Michael Cheika&#8217;s Tigers overtake them in second place"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"mol-bullets-with-font\">\n<li class=\"class\"><strong>Leicester secured a bonus-point win at Ashton Gate, scoring five tries<\/strong><\/li>\n<li class=\"class\"><strong>It means they have moved up to second in the Gallagher Premiership<\/strong><\/li>\n<li class=\"class\"><strong>Bristol took home nothing and drop to third, level on points with the Tigers<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"author-section byline-plain\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/profile-179\/alex-bywater.html\" class=\"author\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ALEX BYWATER<\/a> <\/p>\n<p class=\"byline-section\"> Published:  17:04 EDT, 20 April 2025   |  Updated:  17:04 EDT, 20 April 2025   <\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Bristol\u2019s brand of all-out attacking rugby has seen them land knock-out blows on many of their Gallagher Premiership rivals already this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">But here, they punched themselves out with an error-riddled display as Leicester got sweet revenge for the hammering they took by the Bears in December.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">This result has significant implications for the play-off race. Bristol\u2019s top-four spot now looks a tad precarious all of a sudden.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Leicester\u2019s five-try win means they have moved into second. Bristol took home nothing here and drop to third, even if they are level on points with <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/richmond-tigers\/index.html\" id=\"mol-d33b4060-1e09-11f0-b33b-df6d75cc5fce\" rel=\"noopener\">the Tigers<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The title run-in looks set to be more than intriguing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Leicester boss Michael Cheika raged at the decisions of referee Karl Dickson and he seemed on the verge of combusting as Bristol attempted a late comeback.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">But his team deserved to win and a bonus point was an added bonus.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-7fa210f638adb6d9\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/97488483-14629901-image-a-11_1745166236229.jpg\" height=\"441\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Leicester moved up to second in the Gallagher Premiership with an impressive win at Bristol\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Leicester moved up to second in the Gallagher Premiership with an impressive win at Bristol<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-b307129ba64c0045\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/97488485-14629901-image-a-12_1745166242033.jpg\" height=\"414\" width=\"634\" alt=\"The Tigers are now above Bristol in the Premiership league table, albeit level on points\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">The Tigers are now above Bristol in the Premiership league table, albeit level on points\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> SCORERS <\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Bristol Bears\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Tries: Ibitoye, Ravouvou, Randall\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Cons: MacGinty (2)<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Leicester Tigers\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Tries: Radwan, Hassell-Collins, Van Poortvliet, Steward, Henderson\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Cons: Pollard (3), Shillcock\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Pen: Pollard<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU) Attendance: 16,012\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Star man: Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers)<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">\u2018We were really poor when Bristol came to us and we really did want to turn it around,\u2019 said Cheika, who is departing at the end of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">\u2018All the games in the run-in are finals. It\u2019s like the group stage of a World Cup.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The rewards and perils that come with Bristol\u2019s adventurous approach were summed up perfectly in the first half.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Kalaveti Ravouvou\u2019s outrageous offload set-up Gabs Ibitoye.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">But then when Ibitoye tried a one-handed, basketball-style pass in midfield, all he did was gift a score to Leicester wing Ollie Hassell-Collins.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">If you live by the sword, you have to be prepared to die by it too.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">That is what happened to Bristol on this occasion.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Ravouvou\u2019s moment of brilliance was so good even his team-mate Harry Randall held his hands on his head in astonishment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">But otherwise, Bristol\u2019s handling wasn\u2019t on point. Leicester backs Adam Radwan and Jack van Poortvliet scored either side of Hassell-Collins\u2019 walk-in.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Bristol also weren\u2019t helped by a wobbly line-out.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Pat Lam subbed hooker Gabriel Oghre in a first half which also saw Leicester\u2019s England prop Joe Heyes yellow carded.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Ravouvou and Randall both scored Bristol tries after the break, but Freddie Steward crossed for Leicester\u2019s crucial fourth.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-24f5fa55d25c073a\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/97488555-14629901-image-a-13_1745166334534.jpg\" height=\"430\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Bristol's Kalaveti Ravouvou (right) scored one and made another with an outrageous assist\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Bristol&#8217;s Kalaveti Ravouvou (right) scored one and made another with an outrageous assist\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-32ddd55588a811f2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/97488575-14629901-image-a-14_1745166398149.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Freddie Steward scored Leicester's crucial fourth try as they took home five points\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Freddie Steward scored Leicester&#8217;s crucial fourth try as they took home five points<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The way Steward ghosted around the Bears defence would have pleased Steve Borthwick as the England coach has wanted to see that in his game.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">\u2018What the f*** is going on?\u2019 screamed Cheika as the game hotted up and Solomone Kata followed Heyes in being yellow carded for head contact.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Cameron Henderson made the game safe for Leicester, who impressed with their defence and work on the ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">\u2018We\u2019re disappointed. We were pretty sloppy in the first half. We conceded three soft tries. We struggled in the line-out and for quick ball,\u2019 said Bristol director of rugby Lam.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">\u2018When we\u2019re messy, we\u2019re average. It wasn\u2019t a great day. We\u2019ve got four games to go and it\u2019s going to be a frenetic finish.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;Everyone is gutted, but we\u2019ve got to dust ourselves off.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>                    Share or comment on this article:<br \/>\n                        Bristol 19-36 Leicester: Bears punch themselves out as Michael Cheika&#8217;s Tigers overtake them in second place<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leicester secured a bonus-point win at Ashton Gate, scoring five tries It means they have moved up to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,748,92,393,4884,4204,93,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-36597","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-dailymail","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-rugbyunion","14":"tag-sport","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114372394805563196","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}