Bristol bulk sees off Rotherham and sets up Worcester showdown
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Version 0 of 1. Bristol and Worcester, always favourites to contest the end-of-season shootout for a place in the Premiership, booked their places for the Championship final – Worcester’s first since relegation last season and Bristol’s third in the six years since they slipped from the top division. In the end the two sides with most firepower – even allowing for the loss of half of Worcester’s backline before Friday’s deciding tie against London Scottish – got through, although Bristol were made to work for their title shot, seeing Rotherham reduce the 12-point margin from the first leg down to two points before pulling away in the last 20 minutes when the aggregate advantage went out to 20 points. The game revolved around two scrums which exposed the difference between a side with a billionaire cheering from the sidelines and the team who had to move this game to Abbeydale because the local cricket team had booked their home pitch. In each instance the Bristol pack drove Rotherham backwards, the captain Dwayne Peel shredded the defence leaving the scoring to Marco Mama and then the replacement centre Jack Tovey. From 16-9 on the day and an aggregate lead of just five points, Bristol were home and dry and looking forward to another tense encounter with Dean Ryan’s Worcester. Bristol have chosen to play the first leg on 20 May at home with the final game at Sixways seven days later. Given that just one score has separated the sides in their previous meetings, Andy Robinson, the Bristol director of rugby, is predicting two difficult games before Bristol can think about returning to the Premiership. “Two games to go, two cracking games,” said Robinson. “We’re both Premiership sides and in both previous games Worcester have led for long periods before we found a way of winning them. One mistake, one missed tackle might decide it.” That being the case Bristol will have to be more disciplined than they were at Abbeydale on Sunday when errors at key moments kept Rotherham in the game. From the start Robinson’s side dominated the lineout and the scrum and despite playing into a energetic gale had by far the better of the first half even though Rotherham went to the break three points up. To that extent the writing was on the wall – it was just that Rotherham did not see it. Instead of going quietly, they stole an interception try when wing Jamie Broadley pilfered an inaccurate pass from Mama and when Tom Barrett defied the elements by converting from the right touchline the aggregate lead was down to two points and Rotherham were daring to dream of being the latest side to deny Bristol their dues. Alas for Rotherham the Bristol pack and Peel took a grip, the game ending with Gavin Henson playing out time by bombarding the Rotherham posts with over-optimistic penalty attempts, one from 10 metres inside the Bristol half. Rotherham Scanlon; Broadley, Hayes, J Davies, Keating; Barrett, A Davies (Roberts 63); Hislop, Cruse (capt), Tampin (Lewis 76), Maddison (Thomas 72), Robinson, Rieder, Birch, Morris . Try Broadley. Con Barrett. Pens Barrett 3. Bristol Wallace; Amesbury, Maule (Tovey 45), Henson, Lemi; N Robinson (Morgan 72), Peel (capt; Kessel 78); Traynor, McMillan (Brooker 72), Cortes (Perenise 49), Townson, Sorenson (Glynn 66), Mama (O Robinson 72), Lam, Jones. Tries Mama, Tovey. Con Henson. Pens Henson 4. Referee Dean Richards. |