JWSport Jacek Waszak – Sport journalist
A fearless performance by Bristol Bears ended in defeat as Leinster emerged from their stranglehold to win a dramatic opening match of the Investec Champion Cup at Ashton Gate.9
Leinster used a star-studded bench with Jordie Barrett, Caelen Doris and RG Snyman to win the inaugural Champion Cup
December 9, 2024 Ben Thorne
Bristol Bears host four-time winners Leinster
tonight on Sunday , when the two high-flying clubs kick off the 2024/25 Champions Cup.
The teams tied at halftime, but the visitors were able to bring New Zealand defender Barrett and South African World Cup winner RG Snyman onto the field, whose quality tipped the balance in Leinster’s favor.
Bristol come into the match in top form, sitting second in the Gallagher Premiership, level on points with leaders Bath, after an incredible performance that saw them beat Harlequins 48-24 at the Twickenham Stoop last weekend.
Irish giants Leinster are leading the United Rugby Champions, sitting atop the table with a perfect record of seven wins out of seven, and the province is famous for kicking into high gear in Europe. They want to go one step further than last season, when they were beaten 31-22 by Toulouse in the final, their third consecutive stumble at the final hurdle, having lost the previous two finals to La Rochelle.
Leinster Rugby won 35:12 against Bristol Bears in the first round of the Investec Champions Cup, losing 7:0 with two players hitting the basket. The hosts dominated ball possession throughout the first half and were eventually rewarded with a Max Lahiff touchdown in the 31st minute.
However, the introduction of Jordi Barrett at halftime, in addition to a “bomb squad” led by Springbok, RG Snyman, in the 44th minute, turned the game around.
The first half performance of the Bristol Bears was unable to stop Leinster from pressing the gas pedal, and the visitors scored four touchdowns in the second half of the match at Ashton Gate, winning 35:12.
Five points for Leinster came courtesy of Jordan Larmour, Sam Prendergast 2Jordie Barrett and player of the match Josh van der Flier, while Bristol’s answers came from Max Lahiff and Gabe Ibitoye, who ran some 50 meters late in the second half to get some form of respect.
With Prendergast scoring a total of 20 points, it was a brutal second half on the part of the visitors that Bristol simply couldn’t handle. After turning over the honors even at halftime, Leinster’s tremendous impact from the bench took them home, as the respective quality of both sets of substitutes made the difference in the outcome.
BRISTOL BEARS – LEINSTER 12 – 35
Bristol: Lane; Bates, Van Rensburg, Ravouvou, Ibitoye; MacGinty, Randall; Genge, Thacker, Lahiff, Dun, Owen, Grondona, Harding (capt), Mata.
Leinster: Frawley; Larmour, Ringrose, Henshaw, O’Brien; Prendergast, Gibson-Park; Boyle, Kelleher, Slimani, J McCarthy, Ryan, Deegan, Van der Flier, Conan (capt).
