Bristol score 21 points in last 12 minutes to defeat Leicester after Brown red card

Pat Lam’s side have cemented their place in the play-off positions, after overturning a 19-point deficit at Welford Road

What a time to be a Bristol fan. The Bears’ remarkable rollercoaster hit its most vertiginous, nauseating loop-the-loop at Leicester, but it has remained on its tracks thanks to an astonishing last 12 minutes in which the visitors overturned a 19-point deficit and ended the Tigers’ faint play-off hopes.
Bristol remain fourth by dint of matches won and this victory could turn out to be the most valuable of their staggering run of form. For 68 minutes, the Bears’ minds and souls were still on the M5. After the 85 points scored in the demolition of Newcastle last week, Pat Lam’s side had been hopeless with the ball for over an hour and could not even muster one. Leicester, 19-0 up, were cruising after an Ollie Hassell-Collins brace and a further Francois van Wyk score.
“Crucial for Leicester”Ollie Hassell-Collins makes it 2️⃣ for himself and 2️⃣ for @LeicesterTigers 😬#LEIvBRI | #GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/G7VRMHjpT0
Bristol, dead and buried, needed a hero. Enter Max Lahiff. If anyone had money on Bristol’s replacement tighthead as the Bears’ first try-scorer then they would have won a small fortune. With Mike Brown off the field after a second yellow card for a high tackle on Benhard Janse van Rensburg, a quickfire Lahiff double and Magnus Bradbury’s late score, converted by AJ MacGinty, sealed the most unlikely smash-and-grab at a sold-out Welford Road; Bristol’s sixth league win in a row and, given Harlequins’ bonus-point victory over Northampton, it might prove to be their most invaluable in the race for the top four with just two matches remaining.
A YELLOW TO A RED 🟨➡️🟥Mike Brown’s yellow card has means Leicester Tigers are down to 14 men for the rest of the game 😬🏉#LEIvBRI | #GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/ZrgrTH7wHF
“A lot of belief, heart and character,” said Pat Lam, Bristol director of rugby. “I know we can score four or five tries in 10, 15 minutes. So I was looking at the clock and thinking: ‘Keep going, keep believing.’ At half-time, we did not show them mistakes, we showed them opportunities. That experience will add to the stuff we’ve built over the year to be even more confident.”
After a fractious and ill-tempered first half – both Brown and Ibitoye were sent to the sin bin and referee Matthew Carley had to lecture several players about their conduct – Leicester led 7-0 at half-time, with Dan Kelly’s scorching pass sending Hassell-Collins over. The wing crossed again before Van Wyk stretched Leicester’s lead, but in spite of Ollie Chessum and Freddie Steward’s excellence, it never felt enough. The Bristol comeback, with former Tiger Harry Thacker instrumental, delivered a third straight home defeat for Leicester, their worst run since 2019. B
THEY HAVE BROUGHT IT BACK 💥@BristolBears bring it back with seconds to spare ⌚🤯#LEIvBRI | #GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/dPgWwFF5em
“I feel like I’ve been kicked in the guts,” said Dan McKellar, Leicester head coach. “I’m still finding it hard to accept that we found a way to lose that game. Ultimately, the second card hurt but I’m not putting it on Browny as he was otherwise outstanding. At 19-0 up we were well in control, maybe should have been up by more. We were outstanding today for 70 minutes and I can’t believe I’m sitting here as the losing coach.”
For Leicester, it is season over. For Bristol, the thrill ride continues but, with the Premiership play-off race set to be one of the tightest in history, a repeat of the opening 68 minutes at Welford Road could be fatal to their hopes. If the final 12 is repeated, however, the Bears will be a force to be reckoned with.
Scoring sequence: 5-0 Hassell-Collins try, 7-0 Pollard con, 12-0 Hassell-Collins try, 17-0 Van Wyk try, 19-0 Pollard con, 19-5 Lahiff try, 19-7 Williams con, 19-12 Lahiff try, 19-14 MacGinty con, 19-19 Bradbury try, 19-21 MacGinty con.H-T: 7-0Leicester Tigers: F Steward; M Brown, M Scott (Cokanasiga 75), D Kelly, O Hassell-Collins; H Pollard, J van Poortvliet (Whiteley 61); J Cronin (Van Wyk 55), J Montoya (c) (Clare 58), D Cole (Hurd 55), G Martin (Wells 65), O Chessum, H Liebenberg (Cracknell 68), T Reffell, J Wiese.Replacements unused: Shillcock.Yellow card: Brown 21, 71Red card: Brown 71Bristol Bears: R Lane (O’Conor 65); S Naulago, B Janse van Rensburg (MacGinty 71), J Williams, G Ibitoye; AJ MacGinty (Vakatawa 61), H Randall (Marmion 69); E Genge (Woolmore 65), G Oghre (Thacker 65), K Sinckler (Lahiff 65), J Dun (Caulfield 58), J Batley, S Luatua, F Harding (c), M Bradbury.Replacements unused: Heenan.Yellow card: Ibitoye 15Attendance: 25,849Referee: M Carley