Bristol Bears are European Challenge Cup champions after an impressive 32-19 comeback victory over Toulon at the Stade Maurice-David.
The Bears scored the quickest try in European rugby cup history with Harry Randall scoring within 15 seconds straight from the kick off. A 61st minute try from Max Malins as well as 22 points from the boot of fly half Callum Sheedy secured the trophy.
Bryce Heem crossed the whitewash for Toulon while the impressive Louis Carbonel kicked 14 points.
But Pat Lam’s side displayed a strong defensive performance to see off a late onslaught from the French side to win their first European trophy in their history.
Rugby reporter Charlie Hynes takes a closer look at the individual performances from a historic night for the Bears.
15. Max Malins - 9
Malins was Bristol’s semi-final hero with two tries thank to his slippery attacking runs. It was a different role for the fullback tonight as he was required to sweep up at the back under pressure with a strong Toulon kick chase. He made a number of carries that required him to put his head in not very glamorous places and put his body on the line.
He was confident under the high ball as he remained solid as the Bears looked to claw their way back up the score board.
Malins is fast becoming one of the most exciting prospects in English rugby and showed his lethal instinct in attack as he sliced through the Toulon defence to give the Bears what would prove to be the final winning try.
14. Luke Morahan – 8
Morahan was a constant threat under the high ball from Randall’s box kicks which proved a key asset late on as the Bears were looking to get territory in the Toulon half.
He showed his international class with his carries as he constantly made metres with the ball in hand.
13. Semi Radradra - 9
The magic Fijian was at his finest from the first whistle as he received the kick-off straight down his throat. He showed some wonderful quick hands to release Leiua down the flank and good work rate to receive the return pass and allow Randall to scamper away to the line within 15 seconds.
His mesmerising ability to carry the ball in the palm of his hand like a normal person would hold a tennis ball meant he offered the constant threat of a killer offload. Even the adjudged forward pass to rule out a try for Joe Joyce in the first half looked harsh.
The man was simply ridiculous and Toulon look terrified whenever he touched the ball.
12. Siale Piutau - 8
The skipper for the night in the place of Steven Luatua gave a captain’s performance as he got his head down and put his body on the line for his men. He made nine tackles which was the most of any Bears player.
He made bruising hits in defence and also looked to attack the Toulon defence when he was in space.
11.Alapati Leiua - 9
The Samoan made two great early breaks down left early on with the first creating the openning try and the second pinning back Toulon with a chip and chase.
He posed a threat as a decoy runner in attack as well as with the ball in hand. Leiua also retained good width to allow Radradra to attack inside him.
A big game on the big occasion.
10. Callum Sheedy - 9
Sheedy’s boot has been an incredibly valuable asset for Bears in the Challenge Cup this season, scoring 78 points on the road to final, and tonight was no different. The Welsh fly-half ran the game and controlled the scoreboard with eight successful kicks, including six penalties.
He recovered after a loose pass to Randall which lead to the Toulon try and looked to find the space in the defence with his passing and cross-field kicks.
A very complete performance which will please Wales coach Wayne Pivac and give him a good selection headache ahead of the resumption of the Six Nations and Autumn Nations Cup.
9. Harry Randall - 9
The young scrum half had the right idea from the off as he stuck to Radradra’s shoulder to score the quickest try in European cup final history.
It was a tough ask for the 22-year-old as the big Toulon pack looked to disturb his quick ball. However, he passed his test as he was able to improvise and make the most of messy ball in Bristol’s loose style of play.
He recovered from a spillage that lead to Toulon’s only try to help orchestrate the Bears attack including some great looping runs along the back to set up a classic Bears attack. His box kicking was also on the money throughout and a potent weapon.
A coming of age performance for a player who should be on the cusp on an international call-up.
1.Yann Thomas - 8
Thomas was strong in the Bears scrum and forced his opposite number Jean-Baptiste Gros down on several occasions. He also made some big hits in defence, in particular a bruising hit on Gervais Cordin in the second half.
2. Harry Thacker - 7
The hooker had made the second highest amount of tackles in Challenge Cup this season and continued that with 8 tackles which was the second joint highest of the Bears.
He was unfortunate not to score from a great driving maul from a lineout deep in the Toulon 22 when he lost control of the ball as he went to ground the ball. Toulon competed well at the lineout to cause significant disruption.
3. Kyle Sinckler - 8
The England prop came back into starting line-up after a bench role in last weekend’s semi-final vs Wasps. Sinckler was showing glimpses of his best in attack with his wonderful subtle tip ons allowing the Bears to get over the gainline.
He also composed himself well in a scrum that kept giving away a number of free kicks and worked hard in defence.
It was a day for the big men to stand up and be counted and he did that with aplomb.
4. Dave Attwood - 8
The England man was the leader of the Bears lineout and it offered them a stable base in a game that was quick paced and featured loose ball. The former Toulon man was the power in the engine room.
5. Joe Joyce - 8
The second row was unlucky to not score what would have been one of the tries of the season after Radradra’s pass went forward before he finished spectacularly in the corner.
Joyce stepped up well with his last minute call up the starting 15 and worked hard in his 70 minutes on the field. He got battered in the close contact exchanges but bounced back to his feet time and time again because this win means more to him than perhaps anyone on the field.
6. Chris Vui - 7
The Samoan was shifted to the back row after a the withdrawal of captain Steven Luatua to be with his wife for the birth of their new daughter.
Vui was a menace at the lineout, causing the French side troubles and stealing the ball on a couple of occasions.
He was taken off at half time after taking a heavy knock to be replaced by Jake Heenan.
7. Dan Thomas - 9
The openside appeared to pop up everywhere across the pitch sweeping up loose balls, making carries and making his tackles.
He maintained that defensive intensity throughout forcing Toulon into mistakes and was strong over the ball.
A brilliant reminder of his wonderful talents.
8. Ben Earl - 10
Eddie Jones has quite the selection dilemma on his hands with the amount of high performing back rows in his talent pool. Earl is no exception to this with a monumental performance tonight.
The 22-year-old showed the quality that had been learnt in his time at Saracens and that determination to keep working hard throughout the game. He made important turnovers at key moments against a big Toulon pack.
His crowning moment came in Bears' immense defensive set with ten minutes to go as he made a big hit to move Toulon back which changed the momentum of the set.
A performance which will go down in legend at Bristol.
Replacements
16. George Kloska -N/A
On at 78 minutes.
17. Jake Woolmore - 7
On at 55 minutes.
18. John Afoa - 9
On at 55 minutes
19. Ed Holmes – N/A
On at 70 minutes
20. Jake Heenan - 8
On at half time.
21. Tom Kessell – N/A
On at 78 minutes.
22. Piers O’Conor - 7
On at 60 minutes.
23. Niyi Adeolokun – N/A
On at 78 minutes.
Bristol’s bench continued the job that the starting 15 had done throughout the game and added a needed freshness, especially in the front row. The standout moment from the bench was Jake Heenan as he made an important tackle which saw him get his arm under the ball to stop the Toulon player from stretching for the line.
John Afoa proved once again to be like the finest of French wines, getting better with age.
