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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport

Wasps beat Bristol Bears 47-24 to reach first Premiership final in three years

Wasps beat Bristol Bears 47-24 to reach the English Premiership final for the first time in three years on Saturday.

The hosts, who led 18-0 at half-time, ran in five tries to secure their 12th victory in last 13 league matches.

Veteran centre Jimmy Gopperth, 37, found the target with nine of his 11 kicks for a 22-point haul.

Wasps raced out of the blocks to take the lead inside 10 minutes after a beautifully weighted chip from Dan Robson found centre Malakai Fekitoa, who finished from close range.

Gopperth added a further two penalties to hand Wasps a 13-0 lead before the visitors got on the scoresheet, with Luke Morahan finishing off their first attack at the Ricoh Arena.

Another penalty and a try from flanker Jack Willis saw Wasps hold a seemingly unassailable advantage at half-time.

Harry Thacker pulled one try back for Bristol early in the second half before Robson, Zach Kibirige and Matteo Minozzi went over late to seal a comfortable victory for Wasps.

Lee Blackett's side will face Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership final at Twickenham on October 24, with the South West outfit advancing to their fifth straight final after defeating Bath 35-6.

Additional reporting from Reuters.

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