- Gallagher Premiership
- Saturday, October 10th 2020
- Coventry Building Society Arena
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Wasps | 47 |
|
Bristol | 24 |
Match Report
Will Carpenter reports from Coventry Building Society Arena
Report: Wasps 47-24 Bristol Bears
Saturday, October 10th 2020
Bristol Bears’ Gallagher Premiership campaign ended at the semi-final stage as Wasps booked their place in the Twickenham final with a 47-24 victory.
Pat Lam’s men touched down four times through Luke Morahan, Harry Thacker, Harry Randall and Max Malins, but were outgunned by a rampant Wasps side, who ran in five tries, to go with Jimmy Gopperth’s 22-point haul, to storm to victory at the Ricoh Arena.
What happened?
Fekitoa opened the scoring for the home side on nine minutes when he latched on to Robson’s chip ahead to touch down, before leaving the field with an injury.
Two Jimmy Gopperth penalties, one from long range and another from in front of the posts fired Wasps into a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, before the Bears fired their opening shot. Hughes tapped quickly from the penalty and offloaded to Uren, whose floated pass located Morahan in the right-hand corner.
Great determination 👊
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) October 10, 2020
🔟/🔟maul from @BristolBears 👏#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/348fEmqxm6
A third Gopperth penalty edged Wasps further ahead, before Jack Willis bundled his way to the line for a second try for the hosts on the stroke of half-time.
The Bears gave themselves a lifeline early in the second half when Thacker touched down from a driving lineout, but Wasps soon hit their stride again, as two more Gopperth penalties and quickfire tries from Dan Robson and Zach Kibirige sealed the deal for the home side.
Randall and Malins crossed late on for consolation scores, but it was Wasps’ day at the Ricoh Arena.
Teams and scorers
Wasps: Tries: Fekitoa 9, Willis 35, Robson 61, Kibirige 64, Minozzi 67. Cons: Gopperth 9, 35, 61, 64, 67. Pens: Gopperth 14, 19, 29, 53
Bristol Bears: Tries: Morahan 23, Thacker 49, Randall 74, Malins 77. Cons: Sheedy 49, 74
Key moment
After Luke Morahan's try had clawed the Bears back into the contest at the Ricoh Arena, it was man of the match Jack Willis' score five minutes before the interval that knocked the stuffing out of the visitors.
Thomas Young latched on to a loose ball to race clear down the left, before his back-row colleague, Willis found his way to the line to give Wasps a 23-5 lead at half time.
TEAM. WORK.
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) October 10, 2020
A thrilling move from @WaspsRugby! 🔥🔥🔥#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/rpD0hG7CHY
Pat Lam reaction
"We'll shake ourselves down and get ready for a trophy next week, hopefully."
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) October 10, 2020
Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam admits that his side weren't at their best and credited Wasps after a 47-24 play-off defeat 🐻#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/vaBCEd6XrD
Images courtesy of JMPUK.
Wasps
- Tries:
- Minozzi, Kibirige, Fekitoa, Robson, Willis
- Conversions
- Gopperth (5)
- Penalties:
- Gopperth (4)
- Yellow Cards:
Bristol
- Tries:
- Malins, Morahan, Thacker, Randall
- Conversions:
- Sheedy (2)
- Penalties:
- Yellow Cards:
