The Championship
Saturday, February 17th 2018
Athletic Ground

	London Scottish	15
	Bristol Rugby	55

Match Report

Will Carpenter reports from Athletic Ground

Posted Saturday, February 17th 2018 @bristolsportwkc

Report: London Scottish 15-55 Bristol Rugby

Saturday, February 17th 2018

Bristol Rugby made it a sweet 16 in the GKIPA Championship with an emphatic nine-try 15-55 victory over London Scottish at Richmond Athletic Ground, to further extend their unbeaten league record.

Luke Morahan and David Lemi both crossed for braces during a breathless first half in West London, as Pat Lam’s side had the bonus-point sewn up by the 24^th minute. Tusi Pisi’s step and fend accounted for Bristol’s fifth shortly after the half-hour mark, before Jack Lam crashed over for the visitors’ fifth on the stroke of half-time to open up a commanding lead at the break.

Jason Harris-Wright rumbled over for number six early in the second half, while Alapati Leiua’s interception and Joe Latta’s late score – either side off Scottish consolation tries from Craig Holland and Ross Neal – sealed a 16^th-successive league victory for the GKIPA Championship leaders.

What happened?

On a glorious afternoon in West London, Bristol began in fine fettle with a seventh-minute try from Luke Morahan, courtesy of eye-catching offloads from Jordan Crane and Callum Sheedy.

The fly-half missed the conversion but made no mistake four minutes later when Steven Luatua sent the returning David Lemi on a free run to the line from 30 metres.

Jacob Atkins’ penalty got the hosts on the board after Bristol were penalised for offside, but the visitors’ third arrived almost immediately after, when Lemi scooped up a loose pass in the Scottish 22 to cruise in for his second of the afternoon.

Morahan grabbed his second – and sealed the bonus-point – with an outrageous dummy and canter to the line on 24 minutes, as Bristol took charge in Richmond.

Tusi Pisi turned a moment of indecision into a moment of genius for Bristol’s fifth, stepping off his left foot and applying an impressive finish on 32 minutes, while Jack Lam capped a one-sided 40 minutes with a close-range effort on the stroke of half-time.

David Lemi dives over the first of his brace at Richmond Athletic Ground (JMP UK).

Jason Harris-Wright was introduced from the bench and made an immediate impact in the second period, rumbling over at the back of a powerful maul to take Bristol past the 40-point mark.

A scoreless 20-minute period followed and was broken when Craig Holland picked off Jack Tovey’s pass to sprint in from 80 metres for Scottish’s opening try six minutes from time.

Bristol replied in kind when Alapati Leiua intercepted Joe Luca Smith’s pass just outside the Scottish 22 for an easy run-in, before Ross Neal wriggled free for the hosts’ second on 79 minutes.

But it was Pat Lam’s side who had the final say, as Joe Latta raced on to Andy Uren’s flat pass to touch down and round off a comprehensive away win for the league leaders.

Key moment:

Bristol hit top gear from the first whistle, taking the game away from London Scottish with a blistering start. The bonus-point was secured inside 24 minutes thanks to quick-fire braces from Luke Morahan and David Lemi. From that point onwards, it was one-way traffic in West London.

Man of the match: Jack Lam

The Samoan destroyer was back to his explosive best at Richmond Athletic Ground, helping his side to an emphatic away win with a typically bruising performance.

The open-side had a huge impact in both attack and defence, with a series of bone-crunching tackles and powerful carries, as Bristol ran in nine tries in the West London sunshine.

Lam was also an important cog at the set-piece, giving Bristol a solid foundation from which to launch their attacks.

Photo of the match:

Tusi Pisi touches down for Bristol's fifth try during a breathless first half at Richmond Athletic Ground (JMP UK).

Social media post of the match:

The teams:

London Scottish: Ingall, Williams, Neal, Mosses, Luca Smith, Atkins, Walker; Appiah, Miller, Cringle, Milne, Curry, Marley, Walker, Atkinson.
Replacements: George, Onyeama Christie, McQuillin, Jones, Eliet, Hoadley, Holland.

Bristol Rugby: Morahan (R Williams 75), Leuia, Tovey, Pisi (Madigan 60), Lemi (J Williams 51), Sheedy, Uren; Tonga’uiha (O’Connell 51), Fenton-Wells (Harris-Wright 40), Cortes (Lay 40), Joyce, Latta, Luatua, Lam, Crane (Jeffries 57).
Replacements: Harris-Wright, O’Connell, Lay, Jeffries, R Williams, Madigan, J Williams.