Gallagher Premiership: Bristol Bears rip through Bath for bonus-point win to take top spot, Leicester thrash Newcastle

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Bristol Bears secured a bonus point against Bath at The Rec in a West Country derby that saw the visitors leave with the top spot in the Gallagher Premiership table. Eight tries were scored with several sublime efforts from the likes of Sam Harris, Max Malins and Ollie Lawrence on a stunning day of rugby. Elsewhere, Leicester claimed a dominant win over Newcastle.

Highlights: Grondona stars on debut as Bristol take West Country honours

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Bristol Bears prevailed 36-26 in a thrilling West Country clash with Bath at The Rec that saw the visitors leave with a bonus point and take the top spot in the Gallagher Premiership table.

The Bears were fizzing from the off as Max Malins crossed the try line after just 90 seconds from a flowing wrap-around move.

Ted Hill thought he had got one back for Bath after crashing through a tackle and scoring in the corner, only for the TMO to judge that the flanker had lost control of the ball while trying to ground it.

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Thankfully for the hosts, it was only a few minutes later that fullback Sam Harris produced a sublime bit of skill to score from over 50 metres out. A poor attempt at a tackle from Gabriel Ibitoye allowed Harris to skate through an unorganised Bristol defence to score under the posts.

The rest of the first half was all Bristol in terms of points, scoring another three tries to secure a bonus point within 40 minutes.

Debutant Santiago Grondona burst through for their second off an inside pass from AJ MacGinty, while Benhard Janse van Rensburg made a huge crash through two Bath tackles from short range for the third.

Malins 'cannot stop scoring' as he opens Bristol's account against Bath

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Grondona picked up the fourth, and his second, off a brilliant line inside from the wide channels to crash under the posts and give Bristol a 19-point lead.

Not content with two tries, Grondona decided to add a yellow card to his tally for the day after Bristol gave away a number of penalties. Bath made quick work of the numbers advantage, scoring twice in quick succession through Will Butt and Ross Molony, marking a costly 10 minutes for Bristol.

Almost as soon as Grondona returned, Bath were handed a yellow card as Sam Underhill was sent walking for a late tackle on MacGinty.

Bristol then swung momentum back in their way with a well-constructed lineout maul that saw Gabriel Oghre just about touch down and put 15 points between the two sides.

A late try from Bath gave them an attacking bonus point as Ollie Lawrence burst past Rich Lane down the right wing and tip-toed across the wide channel to score, but they were unable to secure a losing bonus point as Bristol forced a knock-on on the last play of the game.

newcastle's wait for win continues after heavy Leicester loss

Newcastle Falcons suffered a 24th-successive Premiership defeat as Leicester dismantled Steve Diamond’s side in a 42-10 win.

Without Michael Cheika to guide them, who was forced to miss the game through a misdemeanour, the former champions strolled to an easy win Kingston Park and finish the day second in the Gallagher Premiership table.

After a penalty apiece, Ollie Hassell-Collins opened the scoring in the 18th minute, carefully avoiding knocking the ball on like last weekend.

As he did for the first try, Jamie Shillcock delivered a sumptuous try over the top, this tie to Anthony Watson, who raced into the corner for the visitor’s second try.

The Tigers finished the first half with a third try, this time from Emeka Illione, crashing over the line after some powerful rucking from close range.

The bonus point was bagged within three minutes of the second half from Freddie Steward, who lurked on the shoulders of Joseph Woodward and waited for a neat underhanded offload from the centre.

'A try that will mean the world' - Watson dots down as Leicester extend advantage

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If there was any moment that Newcastle could mount a comeback, it was as Leicester had two players sent to the sin bin within two minutes of each other, as both Watson and Hanro Leibenberg were given their marching orders for a deliberate knock-on and dangerous tacle respectively.

Despite that, the Falcons managed to score only a single try through Callum Chick on his 150th appearance, only for a Jamie Blamire yellow card a few minutes later to dent their momentum.

Almost instantly, George Martin tumbled over the line to further extend the lead, and give the Tigers a 22-point lead with 20 minutes to go.

Two tries in the final 10 minutes added to Leicester’s points tally, with Will Wand beautifully plucking a Newcastle pass out of the air on debut and striding to the line with ease.

Leibenberg added the final try after a subtle dummy and pass from Ben Youngs to see his side hit 40 points and cap a dominant victory.

Watch and stream every game of the 2024/25 Gallagher Premiership season, the 2024 Autumn Nations Series and Premiership Women's Rugby on TNT Sports and discovery+

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