Walkers Stadium
Well, what can you say? The upswing in performance under Paul Hull had shown signs of faltering in the last match and that was well and truly confirmed by this 11 tries to nil thumping. Frankly having been coached one wasy for last season and much of this, it is all too easy to fall back into the old ways when put under pressure; and the pressure never let up in this ‘match'.
Unrelenting attacks for the first ten minutes saw Leicester well in front with tries from Vesty and White and that essentially killed the game off. Bristol got on the scoreboard when Luke Arscott kicked a penalty after Leicester failed to roll away. And that was about it from Bristol. Ten minutes passed before Leicester were back on the scoreboard with Hipkiss over, swiftly followed by Crane and Murphy. This left the score nicely poised at 33 - 3.
Things went, if possible, even worse in the second half. Matt Salter came on and was promptly sin-binned for obstruction. A further two tries were conceded in his absence, although frankly Bristol would have conceded them anyway. Four further tries followed as Leicester racked up the highest score of the season. The pick of the bunch was probably Varndell's effort well set up by Johne Murphy.
Bristol depart the Premiership on the back of a spectacular hiding that epitomised so many of the problems this season. The kicking from hand was woeful. The box kick out on the full made an unwelcome return after a brief disappearance at the start of Hull's reign. Hopeful passing leading to interceptions and the absence of supporting players when breaks were made. The turnovers conceded killed Bristol. Credit to Junior Fatialofa for attempting to run the ball, but how much can one player do in a team sport?
Not a good way for so many players to sign off their Bristol careers. Farewell, then, to Joe el Abd, Shaun Perry, Mark Regan and David Lemi. A couple of others may well be leaving too. Next season in the Championship, and anyone who thinks we will waltz straight back up is patronising the likes of Exeter and Doncaster. Even if we do get back, what do we need to do to stay more than a couple of seasons?
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