Harlequins 28-53 Bristol: Bears win thriller but miss out on play-offs

Try: Cunningham-South 2, Dombrandt, Northmore Versus: Smith 4

Try: Williams, Genge, Ibitoye, Thacker, Lahiff, Heward, Oghre Pens: Williams 2 Versus: Sheedy 3, Williams 3

Bristol Bears missed out on a Premiership semi-final place despite beating Harlequins in a thriller at The Stoop on the final day of the season.

The visitors scored four tries in a scintillating second-half display to secure a bonus-point win and end the season on a high.

Tries from James Williams, Ellis Genge and former Quins player Gabriel Ibitoye put the Bears ahead at the break, despite Chandler Cunningham-South and Alex Dombrandt replying for Quins.

Harry Thacker, Max Lahiff, Noah Heward and Gabriel Oghre all scored after the break after the away side lost Genge, Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Callum Sheedy – making his final appearance for the club – to injury in the first half.

Luke Northmore’s tries and a second from Cunningham-South ensured a lost bonus point for Quins, both sides missing out on the end-of-season play-offs.

Surprise defeats for Northampton Saints and Saracens ensured that Bath and Sale Sharks will join them in the play-offs, with Bristol finishing fifth in the table two points off the top four and Harlequins three points and one place below the Bears.

Quins and Bristol knew they had to win and get results elsewhere going in their favor if they were to make the play-offs, and it was the Bears who made the perfect start.

They were ahead in the first minute through center Williams after Ibitoye burst forward down the left and got to the line.

Harlequins leveled the scores as Cunningham-South powered their way between the posts for Harlequins’ first try after a quick pass between Danny Care, Andre Esterhuzen and Dombrandt.

Genge then sold a brilliant dummy to run back to equip and open up a seven-point lead for Bristol.

The prop then crossed for Bristol’s third try but was disallowed for a foul on hooker Thacker on the ground in the build-up.

An official television review of the match showed that Dombrandt grounded the ball into the right-hand corner after a sustained period of Quins pressure eventually got over the line following some resilient defending from the opposition, with Marcus Smith transforming from a distance.

But Bristol were back in front moments later when Ibitoye capitalized on a mistake to slot unchallenged between the posts.

The visitors were dealt a blow when Genge and Cardiff-based Sheedy left the field looking in real discomfort towards the end of the first half.

However, the Bears started the second half in the same way they started the first, with Thacker scoring inside three minutes to secure the bonus point and open up a 12-point lead, before Williams hit the post with the conversion try .

Northmore turned the ball over at half-time and kicked and chased before juggling over the line to cut the deficit to five points.

Cunningham-South went over for their second try as Quins took the lead for the first time and also gave them a bonus point in what would be the highlight of a disappointing afternoon for the hosts.

However, Williams opted to hit three points from a penalty to regain the lead for Bristol and set up a tense final 20 minutes.

Substitute Lahiff’s fifth try was met with almost stunned silence at The Stoop as the home crowd saw their semi-final hopes fade and Williams kicked another penalty to open up a 11 points.

Winger Heward left the Quins defense in his wake to charge for his sixth try in an incredible second-half performance from Bristol.

Substitute Oghre added a seventh as Harlequins could not take advantage of their stacked bench as the game slipped away from them.

Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson said:

“Fair play to Bristol, they ran everything, challenged us on the edges, challenged us out wide and we got cut to ribbons. Defensively we struggled.

“We scored four tries but I think there was probably a bit of inaccuracy with some of our attacking, some balls on the floor and so on.

“We knew we were going to have to score at least four tries to give us a chance to win and that’s where that narrative needs to change.”

Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam told BBC Radio Bristol:

“That’s all we could control (to win the match).

“We’re playing the kind of rugby we really want to play. We are a much stronger team at this stage of the season than we were a few weeks ago.

“We want to keep building on what we’re doing to get to another level.”

Harlequins: Green T; Lynagh, Northmore, Esterhuizen, Beard; Smith, Care; Baxter, Walker, Collier; Herbst, Lewis (c); Cunningham-Sud, W Evans, Dombrandt.

Substitutes: Riley, Kerrod, Lewis, Hammond, Chisholm, Porter, J Evans, Joseph.

Bristol: Malins; Heward, Janse van Rensburg, Williams, Ibotye; Sheedy, Randall; Gang, Thacker, Sinckler; Dun, Batley; Luatua, Harding (c), Bradbury.

Substitutes: Oghre, Woolmore, Lahiff, Caulfield, Grondona, Marmion, Vakatawa, Naulago.