Bristol Bears booked their first ever home European quarter-final with a commanding seven try victory over Brive at Ashton Gate.
The visitors from the French Top 14, who sit ninth in their domestic league, were disappointingly poor but Bristol ruthlessly took advantage particularly in the second half to win 52-3.
The hosts scored through: Piers O'Conor, Dave Attwood, Alapati Leiua, Mat Protheroe, Sam Bedlow, Luke Hamilton and Will Capon while Callum Sheedy finished with 17 points from the kicking tee.
Bristol Bears rugby writer John Evely takes a closer look at the individual performances at Ashton Gate.
15 Mat Protheroe - 9
The full back broke the line repeatedly with his stepping and scored a try down the wing in the second half thanks to his blistering pace.
14 Luke Morahan - 8
The Australian tied up defenders with his weaving runs and even did a good job when he was shuffled into outside centre.
13 Piers O’Conor - 8
The centre scored a fine try before coming off the pitch with a knee injury.
12 Sam Bedlow - 8
The centre crashed oover for a try in the second half, was a defensive colossus and got Bristol on the front foot with his power and big hand off. Needs to keep his passing a little shorter.
11 Alapati Leiua - 8
The Samoan looked back to his best form and really shone when he moved to outside centre as Brive struggled to deal with his power and pace. His outstanding break set-up the try for Bedlow and he scored one of his own.
10 Callum Sheedy - 9
The fly-half finished with 17 points and 100 percent record from the tee including some incredibly difficult touchline conversions. He ran the game well and chose his moments perfectly to show off his range of chip and cross-field kicks.
9 Harry Randall - 8
With quick ball at the breakdown to work with the scrum half sparked into life with sharp deliveries and little snipes. He was an absolute nuisance at the back of Brive’s scrum which led to a couple of turnovers.
1 Jake Woolmore - 9
The prop keeps getting better with every game with the highlight of his performance the stunning off-load to Sam Bedlow to put the centre in for a try.
2 Harry Thacker - 8
The hooker punches well above his weight in defence and is like an extra back in attack. He made a try saving tackle in the first half to catch winger Setareki Bituniyata after he intercepted a pass and looked to be away.
3 Max Lahiff - 8
The prop was having a fine game before he had to come off with a stinger injury to his shoulder. With John Afoa out with a fractured rib Lam will hope he is back fit for next week.
4 Dave Attwood - 10
The second had his best game since moving to Bristol in the summer and looked every bit a world class lock as he got over the gain line with every carry, scored a try and played pivotal roles in the build-up to at least a couple of others with a couple of turnovers. Outstanding.
5 Joe Joyce - 8
The lock carried well and cleared out at the rucks like a demon to provide quick ball for the Bears to work with.
6 Steven Luatua - 8
The flanker was key to providing speed at the breakdown, tackled well and led the side brilliantly. He will be disappointed by a knock on when put into space by Dan Thomas after a turn over at the back of a scrum.
7 Dan Thomas - 9
The flanker was constantly on the shoulder when Bristol broke the line to ensure the Bears made the most of their opportunities.
8 Luke Hamilton - 9
The Scottish international had his best game for the club as he scored a try and made constant breaks as he stepped up to be the Bears’ top ball carrier.
Replacements:
16 Will Capon - 8, 17 Ollie Dawe - 7, 18 Lewis Thiede - 8, 19 John Hawkins - 7, 20 Jake Heenan - 8, 21 Andy Uren - 7, 22 Ioan Lloyd - 7, 23 Charlie Powell - 7.
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