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Bristol Bears rout Newcastle with cricket score at Ashton Gate
By PA
Bristol reeled off a fifth successive Gallagher Premiership victory as they continued their play-off push by demolishing Newcastle 85-14 at Ashton Gate.
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Pat Lam’s team scored more than 50 points for the third home game in a row, posting a club-record Premiership win, and they did not disappoint Newcastle’s consultant rugby director Steve Diamond, who had compared their all-action style to the Harlem Globetrotters.
Newcastle’s 15th league defeat of the season was confirmed with indecent haste as Bristol scored their bonus-point try after just 15 minutes – the fastest Premiership points maximum for 20 years.
They claimed seven first-half touchdowns – Siva Naulago, James Dun, Max Malins, Magnus Bradbury, James Williams, Ellis Genge and Benhard Janse van Rensburg all scored – with fly-half AJ MacGinty adding six conversions.
Further tries followed in the second period for Harry Randall, Kieran Marmion, Jake Heenan, Virimi Vakatawa (2) and Van Rensburg’s second – Williams kicked three conversions and Van Rensburg one – while Newcastle posted scores from wing Adam Radwan and fly-half Brett Connon, who also added two conversions.
Bristol’s Premiership run-in is not straightforward – Leicester away, Saracens at home and Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop – but they are a team high on confidence and could take some stopping in terms of clinching a top-four place.
It took Bristol just 83 seconds to open their account, and they did it in style through a long-range move started by Naulago, who linked impressively with scrum-half Harry Randall before collecting his scoring pass.
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MacGinty converted, and alarm bells were ringing even louder for Newcastle four minutes later when Bristol went through their forwards from a close-range line-out and Dun crashed over.
MacGinty’s conversion opened up a 14-point lead, and there was more to come with only nine minutes gone after prop Ellis Genge’s pass sent Malins through on a searing angle for another easy touchdown.
Newcastle were in all kinds of strife, but they then conjured a score from nowhere when the elusive Radwan gathered and finished impressively on a 40-metre dash to the line, with Connon converting.
A quickfire bonus-point try was inevitable and it duly arrived after Randall took a quick penalty before the supporting Bradbury touched down.
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Newcastle secured pockets of possession that briefly helped stem the tide, but Bristol’s dominance was overwhelming and try number five came when Williams capitalised on weak defence and MacGinty kicked his fourth conversion.
The one-way traffic continued towards half-time as Genge helped himself to a solo score, then Van Rensburg touched down wide out, with MacGinty adding two more conversions for a 47-7 interval advantage.
Bristol rugby director Pat Lam made a raft changes just five minutes into the second period, such was his team’s control, with Genge, his fellow prop Kye Sinckler, MacGinty and flanker Steven Luatua among those going off.
Inevitably, there weas no let-up, with Randall sprinting clear to score Bristol’s eighth try – Williams converted – then replacement scrum-half Marmion crossed, with Williams’ extras taking the home team past 60 points.
Newcastle responded through an interception try for Connon, that he also converted, but Heenan then added Bristol’s 10th touchdown before Van Rensburg and Vakatawa’s late brace completed the rout.
85 runs for 14 wickets??