Bristol Bears went some way to vanquishing years of heartbreaking play-off defeats by securing their place in the Challenge Cup final for the first time after a dramatic extra-time victory, 37-20, over Bordeaux-Begles.
Tries from Steven Luatua and Max Malins in normal time put the Bears ahead for much of the second-half, but a try from Bordeaux hooker Joseph Dweba took the game into extra-time with the scores locked at 20-20.
But the Bears proved too strong for their French opposition, scoring two further tries in extra-time through Piers O’Conor and a second from Malins as the visitors to Ashton Gate were forced to play the final 22 minutes of the 100 minute contest with just 14 men after number eight Marco Tauleigne picked up an injury with Begles having emptied their bench.
Bristol will play either Toulon or Leicester in their first ever Challenge Cup final with their opponents contesting the other semi-final on Saturday night.
As with last week’s quarter-final victory, the Bears started the game on the back-foot with visitors Bordeaux pressuring the try-line.
And they were excellent value for their early lead, with fly-half Matthieu Jailbert breaking through a Bears ruck before beating Malins with a combination of pace and quick feet to cross in the corner.
Silly errors from Bristol gifted Bordeaux field position and the French side exploited it, and ill-discipline from the Bears, to extend their lead with two Jailbert penalties.
The Bears pushed back with Semi Radradra, Harry Thacker and Harry Randall all breaking the defensive line, the latter making over 50 metres from a quick tap penalty.
Bristol were rewarded for their attacking efforts with a try of their own through Steven Luatua. From a line-out, the Bears attack spread the defence to the far-wing and back again allowing captain Luatua to stroll in, with Callum Sheedy converting to bring the deficit down to six at the break, 7-13.
A minute into the second-half Bristol were reduced to fourteen men for ten minutes when Radradra was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle on Jean-Baptiste Dubie. However perhaps even more pivotally in the balance of the contest Bordeaux's influencial young fly-half Matthieu Jailbert was forced to depart with a calf muscle problem.
Despite having a man disadvantage, Bristol dominated the period with Radradra off the field, consistently pressuring the Bordeaux line.
And the Bears took the lead during the sin-bin, with Malins scoring his third try in three games after a clever kick from the outside of Harry Randall’s boot.
Once Radradra returned to the field, the Bears continued to attack the Bordeaux line, Nathan Hughes thought he’d added his side's third try, but it was ruled out by the TMO for double movement.
Callum Sheedy extended the Bears lead with two penalties, but Bordreaux answered back with their second try. Replacement hooker Joseph Dweba picking a strong line through the Bears defence to score.
Ben Botica’s conversion levelled the scores with thirteen minutes to go and despite both sides having chances to win the game the final whistle blew and the game entered extra-time.
Bristol drew first blood early in the opening period of extra-time with replacement Piers O’Conor crossing in the corner after just 90 second thanks to some strong link-up play from Will Capon and Sheedy and an excellent offload from Malins.
And it was Malins who got the fourth and perhaps the most important Bears try. Clever play from Andy Uren allowed the substitute scrum-half to make inroads into the Bordeaux defence, and quick hands from the Bears backs found Malins who crossed for his second try.
Sheedy kicked a third penalty in the second-half of extra time to take the game away from the visitors and secure a 37-20 victory.
Bristol Bears: 15 Max Malins, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 Siale Piutau, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Harry Randall; 1 Jake Woolmore, 2 Harry Thacker, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 Ed Holmes, 5 Chris Vui, 6 Steven Luatua (C), 7 Ben Earl, 8 Nathan Hughes.
Replacements: 16 Will Capon, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 John Afoa, 19 Joe Joyce, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Piers O’Conor.
Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Nans Ducuing, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Jean-Baptiste Dubie, 12 Ulpano Seuteni, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Matthieu Jailbert, 9 Maxime Lucu; 1 Jefferson Poirot (C), 2 Clement Maynadier, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 4 Kane Douglas, 5 Jandre Marais, 6 Cameron Woki, 7 Guido Petti, 8 Marco Tauleigne.
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Lekso Kaulashvili, 18 Vadim Cobîlaș, 19 Cyril Cazeaux, 20 Alexandre Roumat, 21 Yann Lesgourgues, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Pablo Uberti.
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce and Tom Foley
Attendance: Behind Closed Doors
