Rugby / Bristol Bears
Sale knock Bears out of European Champions Cup
Bristol Bears’ European shirts are inspired by the colourful houses of Cliftonwood, but the colour was drained from the faces of Bristol fans by the end of Friday night.
Defeat by 29 points to 35 to Sale Sharks in the European Champions Cup means that the only thing meaningful left to play for this season is pride.
Pat Lam’s men came tantalisingly close to winning this, scoring 21 unopposed points to draw the scores level, but Sale eventually prevailed despite playing most of this match with 14 men.
is needed now More than ever
Jake Kerr and Charles Piatau both thought they had scored tries for Bristol, but Kerr’s effort was ruled out for a knock-on and Piatau’s for a forward pass.
Andy Uren also came tantalisingly close to scoring a try, but he just knocked the ball on over the line.
Luke Morahan scored two tries for Bristol, and there was one each from HarryThacker and Joe Joyce, who pirouetted on his way to the whitewash.
Sale now progress to the Champions Cup quarter-final, while Bristol players looked dejected as they remained on the pitch after the final whistle.
A process of rebuilding can now begin as the Bears look to regain what made them such a force. Let’s get this season out of the way so that the Bears can roar again.
Main photo: JMP
Read more: Bristol batter Bath in record win under the Friday night lights
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
