JWSport Jacek Waszak – Sport journalist
Two tries from Gabriel Ibitoye helped Bristol open the new Premiership season with victory over Leicester.
The winger scored a goal inside two minutes and Harry Thacker added a second. Ibitoye doubled his tally with an incredible run from halfway down the pitch and two James Williams penalties allowed Bristol to move into a 25-point lead.
Dan Kelly and Henro Liebenberg scored two tries each, but they were unable to stop new Tigers coach Dan McKellar’s side falling behind.
The Bears rushed out of the blocks and put immediate pressure on Leicester scrum-half Joe Powell within 60 seconds, forcing him to send the kick in for a touchdown and gain territory just outside the Tigers half.
As the hosts passed the ball wide, full-back Rich Lane spotted a gap, kicked into the corner and Ibitoye touched the ball before it went over.
Charlie Atkinson missed a penalty for Leicester and that was as close as they came to scoring in the first half.
Their first prolonged attack came after 20 minutes, but Leicester were only able to move the ball sideways before a missed pass robbed them of possession. Ibitoye collected it and fired the ball downfield to win Bristol a line-out five yards out.
Late maul Bears moved forward and Thacker scored his second try.
Leicester lost the ball on the restart and immediately went back under the basket. Fitz Harding released Ibitoye, who ran around two defenders and, despite a tackler in front of the line, managed to pull up and score.
Williams scored a penalty at the end of the half and added another early in the second as Bristol went into a 25-point lead.
However, under little pressure, Tom Whiteley’s unsuspecting kick bounced awkwardly and Kelly was quicker to react, running unchallenged under the posts to set Leicester alight.
The Tigers came close to Bristol’s try line on a number of occasions, only to be overturned when Bristol introduced Steven Luatua – fresh from the World Cup with Samoa – and new player Virimi Vakatawa.
With eight minutes to go, Tigers captain Liebenberg found a gap in Bristol’s defensive line and scored a touchdown, but it was too late to get back into the game.
Bristol Bears: Lane, Heward, Janse van Rensburg, Williams, Ibitoye, MacGinty, Randall; Woolmore, Thacker, Tyack, Dun, Batley, Harding (c), D. Thomas, Bradbury.
Leicester Tigers: Brown, Bassett, Porter, Kelly, Hassell-Collins, Atkinson, Powell; Van Wyk, Clare, Heyes, Henderson, Wells, Liebenberg (c), Cracknell, Rogerson.
