The Shoguns produced a remarkable 14-man performance after their England prop
Julian White was sent off in the third minute of a dramatic Zurich Premiership
clash against champions Leicester.
The Tigers crashed to a third successive away league defeat, leaving them a
distant nine points behind leaders Gloucester after they were ultimately undone
by Bristol's lung-busting commitment.
England wing Phil Christophers sealed the victory - Bristol's first in five
starts this season - through a brilliant 40-metre solo try, while Argentinian
fly-half Felipe Contepomi kicked 20 points from six penalties and a conversion.
Referee Chris White played eight minutes of second half injury time, Leicester
were unable to claw back their deficit even though they managed tries by centre
Rod Kafer and wing Harry Ellis.
Both teams finished the game down on numbers - Leicester had prop Darren
Garforth sin-binned for late tackling the outstanding Agustin Pichot, while
Bristol's New Zealand centre Daryl Gibson also received a yellow card.
But the major talking point was White's dismissal, which came after a scrum
erupted into an unsightly flurry of blows.
White, who was sent off in the same fixture last term and received a
three-week ban - appeared to butt his England colleague and Leicester loosehead
Graham Rowntree.
Tough judge Tony Spreadbury conferred with referee White once the fight broke
up, and a red card was produced without hesitation.
Leicester's England flanker Louis Moody, who appeared to throw a series of
punches during the melee, escaped with a yellow card and 10 minutes in the
sin-bin, much to the fury of a vociferous Memorial Stadium crowd.
Moody was then one of three Leicester players to leave the action early
because of injury - fly-half Sam Vestey and centre Olly Smith were the others -
to complete a thoroughly miserable afternoon for Martin Johnson's men.
Bristol were not ruffled by White's premature exit, although the player
himself could now land a sizeable suspension and struggle to be available for
England's autumn Test series opener against New Zealand at Twickenham on
November 9.
The strong-scrummaging White is a key part of England boss Clive Woodward's
plans, and while Woodward will have been relieved to see lock Danny Grewcock win
an appeal against a five-week ban last week, White might not be as fortunate.
Bristol never once took a backward step, particularly in the often furious
forward exchanges, and despite them remaining bottom of the Premiership tonight,
coach Peter Thorburn will take great heart from a memorable display.
After White had gone, Bristol established a 9-0 lead after 24 minutes when
Contepomi compiled a quickfire penalty hat-trick, and it took Leicester until
the half-hour mark to break through.
Quick ball found its way into the Leicester midfield, and Kafer expertly
finished off for a try full-back Tim Stimpson converted.
Contepomi kicked his fourth penalty before the break, and Leicester were
forced to reshuffle when Vestey departed, which meant Kafer moving to fly-half
and Glenn Gelderbloom going on.
Stimpson reduced Leicester's arrears with a penalty on 51 minutes, but then it
was the elusive Christophers who took centre-stage.
He received the ball from a standing start just inside the Leicester half, yet
his brilliant angled running and jinking exploited the space and meant Leicester
could not bring him down.
Contepomi converted, but Leicester then clawed their way back into it when
Ellis, who had moved from wing to scrum-half, scooted over for a try from 20
metres out, and Stimpson added the extra two points.
It now looked as though Leicester's one-man advantage would finally tell, as
Contepomi kicked two more penalties, the second after Garforth's misdemeanour,
and although Stimpson added an injury time penalty, Leicester had been dealt a
knock-out blow.
Three defeats in five Premiership starts was an unthinkable pre-season
prospect for the Tigers, but the league table doesn't lie, and they have got a
real fight on their hands to secure a fifth successive championship crown.
Bristol:
Tries: Christophers.
Cons: Contepomi.
Pens: Contepomi 6.
Bristol: Best, Daniel, Shaw, Gibson, Christophers, Contepomi,
Pichot, Crompton, McCarthy, White, Archer, A. Brown, Sturnham,
Lipman, Salter.
Not Used: E. Bergamaschi, Sheridan, Nelson, Short, Higgins,
Richards, Drahm.
Sent Off: White (3).
Leicester:
Tries: Kafer, Ellis.
Cons: Stimpson 2.
Pens: Stimpson 2.
Leicester: Stimpson, Ellis, Smith, Kafer, Tuilagi, Vesty,
Tierney, Rowntree, West, Garforth, M. Johnson, Kay, Corry,
Moody, W. Johnson.
Not Used: Tournaire, Chuter, Short, Booth, Gelderbloom, Naufahu.
Sin Bin: Moody (3), Garforth (75).
Att: 6,237
Ref: Chris White (RFU).
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