Rugby / Bristol Bears
Immediate impact from Ibitoye as Bears begin new season with win
It took Bristol Bears less than two minutes to put the first points on the board of the new Premiership season with a try from Gabriel Ibitoye.
It was the first score of what ended in a 25-14 win for the Bears. Will this be our season? Who needs Piatau and Radradra anyway when Ibitoye can do this?
After a first half in which Ibitoye scored two tries, Harry Thacker scored one and Bristol did not concede a single point, the second period was much more closely fought.
But a win is a win and Bristol are briefly – and hopefully not for the last time – on top of the Premiership table.
Newly appointed Bears captain led his team’s defensive efforts against Leicester – photo: JMP
Bears fans had been waiting four months for top-flight league rugby to return to Ashton Gate.
And they had to wait 66 minutes to welcome star summer signing Virimi Vakatawa, who did not have much to do and didn’t even receive the biggest cheer of the night for a player coming off the bench: that was reserved for former Bears captain Steven Luatua returning to BS3 from World Cup duties for Samoa.
Main photo: JMP
Read next:
- Fitz Harding becomes new Bristol Bears captain
- Vakatawa: ‘I knew that Bristol was the right place for me’
- Barbarians beat Bears in entertaining encounter
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