Rugby / Bristol Bears
Bielle-Biarrey and Bordeaux Bègles bring Bristol back to earth with a bump
It was the battle of two players called Louis at Ashton Gate on Sunday afternoon, with Louis Bielle-Biarrey coming off better than his counterpart Louis Rees-Zammit.
France winger Bielle-Biarrey scored three tries and could easily have had a first-half hattrick as his formidable Bordeaux Bègles team beat Bristol Bears 15-27 in the Investec Champions Cup.
Bristol were brought back down to earth with a bump following their return from South Africa where Pat Lam’s men ran out 61-49 victors over the Bulls in Pretoria.
Gabriel Oghre received a helping hand from Ellis Genge as Bristol opened the scoring against Bordeaux Begles – photo: Bristol Bears
In damp conditions in BS3 which resulted in numerous handling errors from both sides, Gabriel Oghre scored Bristol’s first try after ten minutes following a quick tap-penalty from Harry Randall
But Bielle-Biarrey quickly drew the points level with his first try and Nicolas Depoortère scored the defending champions’ third, with fellow French international Matthieu Jalibert kicking one conversion to give his side a 17-5 half-time lead.
There was consternation from the vocal visiting fans as Benhard Janse van Rensburg just reached for the line to score for Bristol as some angles gave the impression that he had not grounded the ball.
Jalibert and Sam Worsley traded penalties with the gap just five points with five minutes to go.
And then with seconds left on the clock, Bordeaux Bègles’ final try was scored by who else but Bielle-Biarrey.
Main photo: Bristol Bears
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