Gabriel Ibitoye's late hat-trick helps Bristol to beat Exeter 40-35 and go top of the Premiership in a thrilling West Country derby.
Gabriel Ibitoye scored a stunning late hat-trick as Bristol fought back to beat Exeter 40-35 and go top of the Premiership after a thrilling West Country derby.
An eighth successive Premiership win on the road - stretching back to last December - leapfrogs Bristol two points above Saracens, who take on Harlequins on Sunday. Exeter’s three-point lead at the break was scant reward for a dominant first-half display as they spurned a string of chances, while it was two attacks and two tries for the clinical Bears.But having barely set foot in Exeter’s half, the Bears created something from nothing as Batley’s blindside break gave Marmion a clear run to the line.
Exeter edged into a slender lead seconds before the break when electric acceleration sent England winger Feyi-Waboso on a slaloming run under the posts.A quick pass from debutant Franco Molina sent Brown-Bampoe streaking away for his second and, moments later, Feyi-Waboso’s interception score made it 32-12 just after the hour.
Hodge landed a penalty with five minutes left to put the home side back in front at 35-33 but Ibitoye then scorched away to seal the Bears' first Premiership win at Sandy Park since January 2021."We're close to being a very good team, but the bit that we've got to get right is probably the hardest bit in professional sport, which is holding your composure together under pressure and not multiplying issues.
"Some of it was a little bit silly, almost, but we're not going to move on until we take responsibility.""When it was 32-12 we sent messages on ‘we can score three tries in 18 minutes, no problem’.
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