Latest news with #Bristol
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bristol thrash Quins to book semi-final derby spot
Gallagher Premiership Bristol (26) 52 Tries: Kloska, Batley, Ravouvou, Mata, Ibitoye (2), Grondona, Janse van Rensburg Cons: MacGinty (6) Harlequins (12) 26 Tries: Murley (2), Dombrandt, Hammond Cons: Benson (3) Advertisement Bristol secured their Premiership semi-final at Bath in style with a superb attacking display in a 12-try epic at Ashton Gate. The Bears needed a win to be sure of a top-four spot and made the perfect start, registering a bonus point inside 24 minutes with close-range scores from George Kloska and Joe Batley and explosive Kalaveti Ravouvou and Viliame Mata tries. Cadan Murley's fine first-half double reduced the gap to a 14-point lead at the break. Gabriel Ibitoye extended the advantage to 31-12 soon after the restart but memories of the 2021 'Bristanbul' comeback by Quins at Ashton Gate loomed large as the visitors notched quickfire tries from Alex Dombrandt and George Hammond to go within five points. Advertisement However, scores from Santiago Grondona and Ibitoye settled the nerves before Benhard Janse van Rensburg brought up the half-century as the Bears booked a trip to their West Country neighbours on Friday night. Blistering start sets the tone for Bears Noah Heward made his first Bears start at full back since January after injury while Pat Lam handed Argentina international lock Pedro Rubiolo his Bears debut. With a semi-final spot out of reach Danny Wilson made three changes to the Quins starting XV as Jamie Benson made his first Premiership start at fly-half while Luke Northmore returned at centre and Nick David started at full back. Advertisement It took just 93 seconds for the hosts to break the deadlock as quick hands from MacGinty sent Ibitoye flying down the left wing and despite some good defence from Quins near their own line, prop George Kloska plunged over near the posts, with MacGinty slotting the extras. The second try arrived inside five mins as lock Joe Batley stretched to touch down over the line after another powerful drive, with MacGinty again converting. A penalty kick into the corner and a deep lineout paved the way for Luke Northmore to cross for Quins after an angled run on 10 minutes but the try was chalked-off for a forward pass from Dombrandt, who was then held-up over the line by Fitz Harding after a bulldozing run straight from the restart. Quins got back in it on 17 minutes when Murley raced onto a clever chip forward from Benson on the 22 to catch a high bouncing ball and plunge over, allowing Benson to add two points from infront of the posts. Advertisement Bristol extended their lead just three minutes later as Harry Randall found space on the right and Fijian flyer Ravouvou raced down the whitewash to acrobatically dive over in the corner for his 11th try of the campaign, though the conversion sailed wide. The onslaught continued and Mata produced a brilliant angled run and bulldozed his way under the posts through some rather static defence for Bristol's fourth try and a bonus point on 24 minutes, with MacGinty notching the conversion to make it 26-7. Bears' 16th try bonus point of the season is a new Premiership record. Batley was denied a second try by another forward pass to the left wing before MacGinty's pass was intercepted by Hammond in midfield and a long ball out wide paved the way for Murley to step inside his man and scorch down the left from inside his own half for his 11th try of the season just after the half-hour, though Benson missed the conversion attempt from out wide. Gabriel Ibitoye beats Jamie Benson to the line and finished as joint top try-scorer with Ollie Hassell-Collins with 13 [Getty Images] Bears battle back after nervy start Six minutes after the turnaround Quins replacement Sean Kerr almost broke away but Bears won back possession and Ravouvou's break down the left and some fine passing across the width of the field paved the way for Ibitoye to stroll into the right corner for his 12th try of the campaign, a new club record, against his former club, though the conversion was unsuccessful. Advertisement Bears nerved started jangling, as memories of the 28-point collapse in the 2021 semi-final against Quins returned as the visitors notched two converted tries in three minutes. Dombrandt reduced the arrears after a slick dummy through the line from Benson created space and Quins added another from close range on 52 minutes after a break from Northmore, with Hammond diving through a crowd to touch down on the line, with Benson's third conversion making it a five-point game. The hosts could breathe again on 58 minutes when Grondona plunged over to end a series of goalline probes, with MacGinty adding the two points, and some lightning hands and feet from MacGinty saw the ball spread to Ibitoye on the left to jink his way to the line for try number 13, the joint most in the league this season, with MacGinty adding the extras from the whitewash to restore the 19-point lead and bring up 1,000 in his Premiership career for Bears and Sale. As Quins wilted in the Bristol sunshine Bears were denied a penalty try for Benson's slap into touch behind the posts, however Janse van Rensburg barged through a gap to dot down behind the posts to bring up the half-century, with MacGinty adding his sixth conversion. Advertisement The hosts saw out the final 10 minutes without further alarm to register their biggest ever win over Harlequins, secure their return to the semi-finals for the first time in four years and book a mouthwatering clash at the Rec on Friday night. 'We know how to beat Bath' Pat Lam, Bristol director of rugby, told BBC Radio Bristol: "I am very proud of this group, this is probably one of the highlights of my time at Bristol Bears. "We know there's areas we can improve on. To be missing stardust players for several months at a time, the squad has really gelled together to get us through the tough times." Advertisement [On the derby date at the Rec on Friday night] "We're excited. Bath have only lost three games this year, and we've beaten them twice. "We've played them 14 times since we've been back in the Premiership, won all of them at Ashton Gate, once at the Principality and we've won more at the Rec than we've lost. "We know how to beat Bath. The challenge is it's now a semi-final. I have to get the game plan right." Quins head coach Danny Wilson said: "We started the game terribly today and it put us in a bit of a hole. "We were back in it at 31-26, but then Bristol capitalised on their opportunities. Advertisement "They are a very, very good side if you let them let rip. It has been a painful end to the season." Bristol: Heward, Ravouvou, Janse van Rensburg, Williams, Ibitoye; MacGinty, Randall; Thomas, Oghre, Kloska, Rubiolo, Batley, Grondona, Harding, Mata. Replacements: Thacker, Woolmore, Lahiff, Owen, Luatua, Marmion, Byrne, Bates. Harlequins: David; Isgro, Beard, Northmore, Murley; Benson, Porter; Baxter, Walker, Lamositele, J Green, Hammond, Kenningham, Evans, Dombrandt. Replacements: Jibulu, Els, Streeter, Launchbury, Lawday, Murray, Kerr, Halfpenny. Referee: Luke Pearce
Times
2 hours ago
- General
- Times
Bristol Bears book semi-final against Bath after hammering Harlequins
Just a regal afternoon from Bristol Bears, one in which a monster crowd at Ashton Gate positively revelled. After the game, we were led to believe via a song that cider would be downed in the biggest rugby city in Britain. Bristol will play away against Bath on Friday in the play-off semi-finals and the Recreation Ground is nowhere remotely big enough to accommodate those who would want to go. Such is the rivalry and the intensity for rugby in the West Country that a 50,000 capacity may not be enough either. We all know that Bristol have their daft moments, that occasionally their defence lets them down and here again on Saturday they did throw the odd speculative pass and made the odd error simply through their joyous tendencies to attack with every ball that comes back.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- General
- Telegraph
Bristol axes the Knowledge after only eight taxi drivers pass
Bristol has axed the Knowledge test for taxi drivers after only eight passed the quiz. Council officials said the 'outdated' test, which requires drivers to learn road names and locations to get their passengers to their destinations quickly, had become a 'barrier'. Figures revealed that just eight of 133 people taking it in Bristol this year managed to pass. Drivers have to answer at least 75 out of 100 questions correctly and must also achieve a minimum pass mark in all 10 categories – four or five out of 10 questions in each. A report to Bristol city council's public safety and protection committee, the 90-minute test was described as 'outdated'. Test 'should prioritise safety' In November 2023, a decision was taken to update Department for Transport guidance, with the committee report making it clear that topographical knowledge was no longer needed. It said: 'Given the availability, reliability and ease of use of sat nav systems, licensing authorities should not require any topographical knowledge or navigational tests for private hire vehicle drivers.' Instead, the report recommended that the sections that should stay in the test should prioritise safety, including child sexual exploitation, general road safety, along with how to calculate change, policy and legislation, and equality. The committee further suggested the test needed to be strengthened with a wider range of questions and topics which protect public safety, including disability awareness, planning routes using navigation devices, conflict avoidance, and also what steps to take if they face racial abuse, abusive comments or hate speech. The Knowledge was first introduced in 1865 as a requirement for taxi drivers, and it takes between three or four years to master the test. Drivers are taught precise locations and routes to hotels, pubs, restaurants and clubs, along with places of interest or the district of a particular road.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Plans for 154 homes approved despite parking shortfall
Plans for 154 homes near the M4 have been approved despite concerns about a shortfall in visitor and highways officers were happy with the proposals of the second half of Mulgrove Farm Village, near Bristol, despite a shortfall of three visitor parking spaces compared with the requirements under South Gloucestershire Council site on former agricultural land will include 57 affordable concerns raised by Stoke Gifford Parish Council, South Gloucestershire councillor Neel Das Gupta said while the shortfall "may seem minor on paper" even "small shortfalls can have long-term consequences". He said the pressure on parking at the estate, which is north of the railway line between Stoke Gifford bypass and the B4427 Old Gloucester Road, could lead to overspill and blocked pavements."While three spaces might seem negligible, it could very well be the difference between a well-functioning neighbourhood and one where parking is a daily frustration for residents," he to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, parish councillor Andrew Shore asked for the plans to be deferred and requested developers Wain Homes to remove one or two houses to make more room for visitor spaces. 'Highly accessible' Highways officer Myles Kidd said they were required to be flexible with their policies and the first half of Mulgrove Farm Village, which is nearly complete, had 20 more visitor spaces than Rhys-Davies, of Wain Homes, told councillors there were no more spaces available without compromising the wider design objectives of creating attractive, well-landscaped, pedestrian-friendly said: "The site is highly accessible. There are many bus services, walking and cycle links and it is a short distance from Parkway Station."There are 154 much-needed homes, of which 57 are affordable, which is 20 more than we are required to provide under the section 106 [developers' contributions] agreement."
BBC News
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Premiership Rugby: Leicester, Sale and Bristol into semi-finals
Update: Date: 17:36 BST Title: Bye for now... Content: After 36 weeks and 18 rounds of regular-season action, we have the four clubs that will be going for Premiership glory this season. Leaders Bath will face fierce rivals Bristol on Friday night in what could be an outrageously entertaining game of attacking rugby between two sides that flood forward with fearless aggression. Then we have second-placed Leicester Tigers up against Sale Sharks on Saturday. It is a match that screams rugby union arm-wrestle! You can follow radio and live text commentaries of both those matches right here on the BBC Sport website. Until then, adios. Update: Date: 17:33 BST Title: The final standings Content: So the day ends as it began with Leicester and Sale both getting over the line to secure third and fourth place, respectively. Bristol came through a breathless match with Harlequins, while Gloucester and Saracens both won their games but ultimately fell short. Update: Date: 17:30 BST Title: 'I'm unbelievably excited' - Curry Content: FT: Exeter 26-30 Sale Sale captain Ben Curry told TNT Sports: "Credit to Exeter, they're an unbelievable team and we knew that coming down here. "Where they are in the table probably doesn't reflect how good a side they are - all credit to Exeter but we can definitely do better. We know there's more in us. "Rob [du Preez] said we were fighting for another Monday together and we've got that so we're very grateful to get into a semi-final. We've worked unbelievably hard to get there." On the Premiership play-off semi-final against Leicester Tigers next Saturday: "I can't wait - one of those ones, Welford Road away, I'm unbelievably excited already." Update: Date: 17:24 BST Title: 'There'll be fireworks at Bath' - MacGinty Content: FT: Bristol 52-26 Harlequins Bristol Bears fly-half AJ MacGinty speaking to TNT Sports: "It's massive [to win today]. I think we wanted to finish the season strong. "Our home form this season hasn't been great so there was an edge this week, a lot to play for so we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to come out and deliver. "We spoke a lot about it being 11 months of hard work to get to this point and let's finish the job and get that play-off spot. "Next week at the Rec's going to be a hell of an atmosphere." On the semi-final against Bath: "Since I've been here it's the one game that the players and the local lads, it gets the going like no other game. It means so much to the boys to represent Bristol and what it means to the fans, so yeah fireworks next week - fireworks." Update: Date: 17:21 BST Title: 'Cheika is world class' Content: FT: Leicester 42-20 Newcastle Tom VarndellFormer England and Leicester wing on BBC Radio Leicester If Michael Cheika can mould his Leicester side properly they can absolutely beat Sale, and get themselves into the final. He is a world class coach and has the ability to get someone ready for war, and Leicester will be seeing it as going to war two weeks in a row. It's also huge that the match will be at home, with the Welford Road crowd behind the players. Update: Date: 17:19 BST Title: 'I'm so proud' - Sanderson Content: FT: Exeter 26-30 Sale Sharks Sale Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson told TNT Sports: "I've got one of these smart watches to track my heart rate and the alarm was going off for the whole of the second half. "Nerve-wracking and probably made it tough for ourselves at times but chuffed that we're in the semi-finals but we've got to be better than that. "We'll have a good crack on the plane home tonight and I'll lean into Sunday and maybe get a bottle of Malbec and then it's all hands to the pump again on Monday morning. "It's such a good group. I'm so proud of them." On finding out about Sale's semi-final opponents, Leicester Tigers: "Oh well good. We've learned some lessons and we'll have to put that right from two or three weeks ago. I'll be looking forward to going back down there." Update: Date: 17:16 BST Title: Post Content: FT: Exeter 26-30 Sale Brent PilnickBBC Sport at Sandy Park That was some finish at Sandy Park, but in the end the home fans go home disappointed. It was a valiant effort from Exeter, and one that will give them hope for next season. As for Sale, they can be buoyed by some of their first half attacking play, but they will know they have to work on their defence as they struggled to cope with Exeter at times after the break. Update: Date: 17:13 BST Title: 'Play-offs will be cracking' Content: FT: Bristol 52-26 Harlequins Gareth ChilcottEx-England and Bath prop on BBC Radio Bristol Bristol will need to work on their defence this week but you know the play-offs will be a cracker. Bath will be worried about this Bristol side, especially because they've just been beaten by Saracens. It could go either way. Update: Date: 17:10 BST Title: Semi-finals confirmed Content: Premiership play-off semi-final fixtures So there we go, at the end of the day the table stayed as it was before this afternoon started. 1 Bath 2 Leicester 3 Sale 4 Bristol That means that next week our two semi-finals will be: Bath v Bristol, Friday, 6 June (19:45 BST) Leicester v Sale, Saturday, 7 June (15:30 BST) Update: Date: 17:05 BST Title: Post Content: And breathe. The curtain has closed on the 18th and final round of the 2024-25 Premiership season and we have full-time in all five of our matches. Let's see where that leaves us, shall we and get some reaction. Update: Date: 17:01 BST Title: Full-time Content: Leicester 42-20 Newcastle Leicester have themselves a shot at a record-extending 12th Premiership crown. This win sets up a home semi-final against Sale Sharks next week. It will be another emotional day as it is the last chance for a number of favourites, including living club legends Ben Youngs and Dan Cole, to play at home. Update: Date: 17:00 BST Title: Full-time Content: Gloucester 41-26 Northampton Gloucester did all they could to try snatch a play-off spot today, but results elsewhere mean they fall just short. Headlining the win was Christian Wade, who signs off a Premiership player with two tries. He switches rugby codes next week to join Super League giants Wigan Warriors. Update: Date: 17:00 BST Title: Converted try: Leicester 42-20 Newcastle Content: Ollie Hassell-Collins (78 mins) con Ben Volavola Ollie Hassell-Collins gets the try he has richly deserved today! It's a score that completes an ultimately comfortable win that secures a home play-off semi-final next week. Update: Date: 16:58 BST Title: Try: Gloucester 41-26 Northampton Content: Christian Wade (79 mins) Christian Wade has signed off from rugby union in style! He races away with all the flash that has made him one of the Premiership's most prolific try-scorers. Gloucester will win this easy, but they will fall short of the play-offs. Update: Date: 16:56 BST Title: Full-time Content: Bristol 52-26 Harlequins It'll be at least one more game for this captivating Bristol side as the final whistle confirms the victory that secures fourth spot for the Bears. An incredible 12 tries today at Ashton Gate between two of the league's great entertainers. A wonderful game to wrap things up in Bristol for another year. They'll face local rivals Bath for a place at Twickenham. Update: Date: 16:56 BST Title: 'Curry relieved' Content: FT: Exeter 26-30 Sale Chris MallabandBBC Radio Manchester It was a valiant effort by Chiefs to get back into this, but you just know Ben Curry will be the most relieved man in the stadium. His misplaced pass could've led to a try. Update: Date: 16:55 BST Title: Converted try: Leicester 35-20 Newcastle Content: Sammy Arnold (76 mins) con Brett Connon Newcastle have not relented, despite being well done late on. Sammy Arnold finishes off a well worked team move before Brett Connon converts. Just three minutes left in this one. Update: Date: 16:54 BST Title: Full-time: Exeter 26-30 Sale Content: Sale breathe a MASSIVE sigh of relief. With the last play of the game, Exeter look to play ball in hand but an overcooked pass sees the ball go out of play and that is that. It was a terrific second-half performance from Exeter, who remember trailed at the break by 15 points, but it wasn't enough to get a result as the Sharks seal third place in the final season standings and set up a clash at Leicester Tigers next Saturday in the Premiership play-off semi-final. Tries from Rekeiti Ma'asi-White, Bevan Rodd and England's Luke Cowan-Dickie helped them get over the line today but you would imagine they will have to play better than that if they are to get their hands on just a second Premiership title in their history. Update: Date: 16:54 BST Title: Converted try: Leicester 35-13 Newcastle Content: Matt Rogerson (73 mins), Ben Volavola Matt Rogerson is another Leicester Tigers players on their way out at the end of the season, and he has come up with a bit of a leaving present. Solomone Kata shifts the ball to Rogerson, who barges over to finish. It is blow-out now. Update: Date: 16:53 BST Title: Full-time Content: Saracens 36-26 Bath The full-time whistle brings an end to Saracens' season as they miss out on the play-offs for only the third time since 2009. The Men in Black looked like they had wrapped the result up long ago but a very young Bath side put in a spirited fightback to bring them within 10 points at StoneX Stadium.
