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Leicester Thump Bristol

Walkers Stadium
By Jon Thornton
April 26 2009
Leicester made sure of top place after the regular season and Bristol clinched last with the hosts scoring 11 tries in a 73 -3 rout

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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Leicester Thump Bristol
Posted by: bristolrugby.net (IP Logged)
Date: 26/04/2009 09:12

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009:05:08:18:44:10 by SenorJuan.

Re: Leicester Thump Bristol
Posted by: david jon (IP Logged)
Date: 26/04/2009 13:11

Good report, My mate went up and this morning i had a quick chat with him, he said that Briss were lucky not to concede 100 points and that he thinks that it will be a difficult task to get back into the Prem next year. But as he said, it is only a game, no one died.

Re: Leicester Thump Bristol
Posted by: FoggyBristol (IP Logged)
Date: 27/04/2009 09:01

I feel sorry for any of those who made the trip. But I`ve never understood how players keep their heads up when there s nothing to play for.
A good effort was made last week to sign off at home but to go to Welford Rd when your season is over and transfers are a done deal,it was bound to be a big loss.

We'll be competitive next season, but I doubt we're favourites for promotion.

Re: Leicester Thump Bristol
Posted by: Graham_U_nli (IP Logged)
Date: 08/05/2009 14:01

Its taken me this long to get over the pain of the visit up there. I'm just glad it was Leicester and not several other clubs, as their fans are generally a good bunch who respect rugby traditions, so there was not crowing after.

I think you made a good job of the report, and I'm glad to see you gave Fatti a mentioned, as although his lack of mobility was frequently exposed he was the one player who kept going and continued to chased backed all game. Something his more vaunted and talented mid-field partners could learn from.

Both Wingers tried hard with little to work with as the forwards were stuffed, and half backs were broken. The less said of Greg at FB the better. The power and pace of the cheaters was amazing and made us look what we are, the worst team in the league by far. Unfortunately this was a very sad way to say good bye to some great servants to the club.

With the improvement under Hully we had been looking much better, but the wheels have been coming off since O'rish, and I guess the new coach effect only last so long with all the other uncertainty. Lets hope a good pre-season and a settle squad will get us back to the style and commitment Hully has been trying to build.

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