The Bristol Bears were able to just pip the Exeter Chiefs to the post, as they came away with a closely contested victory 18 - 14.
In front of a packed home crowd at Ashton Gate Stadium, the Bears showed real tenacity, managing to come back from being 8 - 14 down at half time, as well as playing a man down for 30 minutes.
Bristol Bears vs Exeter Chiefs match report
Despite the Bears being the first to tally points almost instantly, as an early scrum got the home side a penalty within the first 60 seconds, the Chiefs were quick to accept the challenge.
They boasted almost 90% territory for the first 20 minutes, although this was not converted into any meaningful scores. However, the Chiefs were dealt a stroke of good luck, as Bristol’s Tom Jordan was dealt a 20 minute red card after half an hour - and they were quick to take advantage as Ben Hammersley barreled across the try line.
However, despite this advantage both in men on the field and points, with the scoreboard reading 8 - 14 at half time Exeter were simply unable to keep up this momentum.
The Bears finally managed to extend a tentative lead at 58 minutes, as a try from Gabriel Oghre and a conversion from Joe Worsley put them 15 - 14 up.
Even with yet another player being sin-binned, as Max Pepper was dealt a yellow card with 20 minutes, a late penalty kick 45 metres out from Joe Worsley added a crucial 3 points in the 80th minute to secure the Bears victory.
Bristol Bears' winning reaction
The Bristol Bears Director of Rugby, Pat Lam, described the game as “probably one of the highlights of my time here. I’m so proud of the boys”.
“Talk about real fight from this group - real Bears character”.
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