Bristol Bears secured a guaranteed top four finish Pool B of the 2021/22 European Heineken Champions Cup with a 52-21 bonus-point win against Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets in Round 4 of the group stages on Saturday,
An eight-try thriller saw Semi Radradra, Ioan Lloyd, Harry Thacker, Piers O’Conor, Siva Naulago and Callum Sheedy cross the try line, as Bristol gained the upper hand in the second half to pull away from the Welsh region.
A top-four finish in the 12-team pools means the Bears will play at home second in the two-legged last 16 knockout stages and, should they advance, play at home in the quarter-final, while also theoretically gaining them an easier draw
Bristol Bears rugby writer Lowri Jacob takes a closer look at the individual performances from the Bears at Parc y Scarlets....
15. Charles Piutau - 7
Charles Piutau really is Mr Reliable, he ran with the ball with serious intent, squeezing through gaps and providing Bristol with a great platform to attack from.
Unfortunately the full-back suffered a knee injury after taking a hospital pass, with speculation that the medical staff are checking for an MCL.
Fingers crossed any damage done is minor.
14. Luke Morahan - 6
The Australian was penalised early on for a deliberate knock-on but made a lovely run with the ball during the run up to Callum Sheedy’s try - with great linking up between the two. He really seems well suited to playing Bristol's new 'keep ball alive' approach, picking the moment perfectly to put his foot down through a gap.
The winger also made two nice clean breaks.
13. Semi Radradra - 8
The centre was in great form, and scored two top tries.
The first owed a massive debt to the staggeringly hard to defend footwork of Ioan Lloyd who did all the hard work before feeding the ball for Radradra to finish.
The second was a sensational counter attacking try and he looks to have a natural affinity with fellow countryman Siva Naulago who was heavily involved in the score, giving the final offload to Radradra to crash over in the corner.
The centre looked extremely dangerous with ball in hand and was also defensively strong defensively,
The whole package for Bears this evening.
12. Ioan Lloyd - 8
The Welshman made a huge impression playing at inside centre for the first time with director of rugby Pat Lam divulging post-match that it is all part of a grand plan to develop the 'project player'.
Early on he made a defence cracking run downfield, breaking through the Scarlets defence and sending Radradra over the line with an excellent offload.
Minutes later, the centre crossed the try line himself following some quality play from the Bears as Chris Vui gave an outrageous no look flick pass behind his back to the 20-year-old Welshman
.It was really beginning to look like the Ioan Lloyd show before an ankle injury curtailed his time on the pitch, departing on the half hour mark for Piers O'Conor.
Lloyd was likely been removed with Lam taking caution in case he is without fly-half Callum Sheedy for the duration of the Six Nations following another call-up to the Welsh squad.
Once again Lloyd was also defensively strong, putting in a huge tackle on Liam Williams defending in his own 22.
11. Henry Purdy - 6
Purdy put in a solid shift in attack, making 47 metres with a couple of scorching runs but a failure to control the ball after being tackled cost his side on a couple of occasions.
Ten minutes into the second half, the winger was replaced for tactical purposes but was also carrying a knock.
10. Callum Sheedy - 7
It was a strong performance for the Wales international, in terms of both kicking accuracy and attacking efforts.
In the dying moments of the game, he crossed for a try in the corner, showcasing a great example of the Bears attacking tactic of keeping the ball alive. The fly-half converted his own effort from the right touchline.
Most importantly, Sheedy picked the right options at the right time on Saturday.
9. Harry Randall - 7
It was a quieter performance for the scrum-half this week, with his most notable moment being when Scarlets hooker Ryan Elias was penalised for deliberately knocking the ball on as Randall went to play the ball at the back of the ruck, which resulted in a yellow card and a penalty try for Bristol.
Looked for quick tap penalties on a regular basis to add tempo to the game but was frustrated to be pulled back and slowed down by referee Mathieu Raynal.
Jake Woolmore - 6
The prop put in a massive defensive shift making a total of 17 tackles. At scrum-time he came under pressure against a Welsh International front row.
2. Bryan Byrne - 6
Making his return from a serious long term knee injury the Irish hooker displayed glimpses of his carrying ability and will be a welcomed addition back into the selection fold.
The lineout faltered at times but every area of his game will sharpen up with more game time. One area he did impress was in defence making 16 tackles without missing.
3. Kyle Sinckler - 6
It was a quiet afternoon for the England international.
The tighthead prop, making his final appearance for the Bears before the Six Nations, saw his short-range driving effort to cross the try line disallowed as the ball was held up and was replaced with half an hour remaining.
Everything he offers will be missed in his absence over the next couple of months.
4. Ed Holmes - 6
It was a classic Holmes performance from the athletic lock who got around the park incredibly well, carried in the wide channels while being a good link player and made 12 tackles, however he won't be happy with four missed.
5. Joe Joyce- 7
The captain showed true desire with a try-saving tackle at the start of the second half, with a man of his size having no right to get back and haul in Scarlets scrum half Dane Blacker.
Joyce also picked up a try assist with a brilliant offload to put Harry Thacker in for a try after the break.
6. Chris Vui - 8
The versatile forward continues his great form at blindside, putting in a huge shift both in defence and attack.
He played a vital role in the lead up to Lloyd’s try, running down the wing and drawing in defenders and putting in a slick behind the back pass for Lloyd to cross in the corner.
7. Dan Thomas - 7
On his 100th appearance and a visit back to his old club as a junior at Parc y Scarlets the flanker put in a good effort to build on his impressive form as of late.
Thomas was joint top for tackles made, making an impressive 17 and walked the tightrope of being legally annoying to the opposition throughout.
8. Fitz Harding - 9
The man of the match showed sheer power, balance and guile, putting in another action-packed performance.
He never stopped providing the Bears with defensive cover, one notable moment being when the forward ripped the ball despite huge attacking pressure from the Scarlets.
He also put in a number of huge hits with Lam revealing post-match he is the club's most dominant tackler attacking to the stats.
In attack, he made a huge impact making an impressive 108 metres and provided the Bears with a great attacking platform.
He gets better with every game and is already outrageously talented.
Replacements
16. Harry Thacker - 8
The replacement hooker made a great break downfield, stepping defenders which provided Bears with a major attacking platform inside of the Scarlets 22.
With a quarter remaining, he crossed the try line for Bears fourth try of the game.
17. Yann Thomas - 6
18. John Afoa - 6
19. John Hawkins - 6
20. Steven Luatua - 8
Bowling players over like pins
21. Andy Uren - 7
The scrum half was asked to play on the wing due to the injury to Charles Piutau and did so really well, playing a key role in a couple fo the Bears' long-range scores.
22. Piers O’Conor - 7
The centre replaced Lloyd at the half an hour mark and put in a great shift.
Having scored a brace last week he crossed for a try in the second half, brushing off a tackle from Sam Costelow and stepping the Scarlets defence to score.
23. Siva Naulago - 9
Making his first appearance since March due to injury the Fijian winger really added an element of danger to the Bears backline
The replacement made a nice break down the left to get warmed up, but unfortunately had to kick possession away with no attack available in support.
But he was only just getting started, making a massive impact for the side off of the bench to make 105m in attack in just 27 minutes on the pitch, scoring a try following a break from Luatua and then getting a try assist with an offload for Radradra to crash over.
He couldn't have done much more.
