Blistering Bristol Bears dominate second half to clinch maiden Challenge Cup crown
- 1424
Bristol Bears put in a blistering second half display to secure a 32-19 victory over RC Toulon and clinch a first European Rugby Challenge Cup title on Friday night.
22 points from the boot of fly-half Callum Sheedy and tries from Harry Randall and Max Malins proved enough to see off a Toulon side who led by six at the break.
It was Bristol who made a fantastic start, with Semi Radradra and Siale Piutau combining on the left wing before picking out Randall and he sprinted clear of a stunned Toulon line to dot down inside 15 seconds.
Sheedy made the conversion and extended the lead to 10 with a sideline penalty kick after just four minutes.
It was a careless pass from Bristol that allowed Toulon a way back into the match as they collected and shifted play from the centre to out wide, finding Bryce Heem who sprinted clear and dotted down in the corner.
Louis Carbonel then slotted over to make it 10-10 and despite Bristol having two tries chalked off by the TMO, it was the French side who led by six at the break as their No.10 popped over another pair of three-pointers.
At the start of the second period, the two sides exchanged penalty kicks before Bristol managed to get level with a pair of successful kicks from the tee, making it 19-19 on the hour mark.
But it was a stunning try from Max Malins that would turn the match in the favour of the English side.
He produced a devastating step to get past the Toulon defender with relative ease and had the pace to quicken away from the chasing pack and score in the corner.
Sheedy made the conversion to make it a seven-point game and after nailing back-to-back penalty kicks in the final 10 minutes, that would be enough for Bristol to earn a famous first European success.
via epcrugby.com