Bristol’s final game of the season was against the might of Leicester and commenced in pouring rain. From the outset Leon Lloyd powered into the Bristol 22 with captain, and fly-half, Austin Healey pulling the strings. Bristol were offside at the breakdown and Geordan Murphy stepped up to take the penalty from directly in front of the posts to make it 3 – 0 with just three minutes on the clock. The wet conditions were certainly against an expansive game but both teams attempted to play a positive running style. Unfortunately, the conservatives amongst us who would have liked to see a controlled, territorial, approach were proved right as both sides went on to make plenty of errors leading to a staccato and scrappy game.

Leicester certainly had the better of the opening exchanges, with nearly ten minutes on the clock before Bristol really got their hands on the ball. Even then it was from a defensive kick by Jason Strange that was touched in-flight by a Leicester hand. Craig Short gathered the resulting lineout, but Greg Nicholls had great difficulty in getting the ball out. Fortunately, Tigers infringed to give Strange a chance to make some ground with his penalty kick. The lineout was duly won, but the Tigers defence was strong and Bristol turned over possession, only for Lloyd to knock on and promptly hand the scrum to Bristol. This collapsed and Leicester were penalised and Strange again went for territory, kicking down to the Tigers 22. The lineout was a shambles and Leicester came away with the ball, only for yet another knock-on to occur as they attempted to move the ball wide. Now it was Bristol’s turn to attempt to move the ball downfield but a combination of good defence and poor lines of running gave the turnover to Leicester. This Tiger’s attack in turn came to nothing as they once again knocked on. This phase of play was very disorganised and frustrating for both players and supporters. The immortal phrase “trying to play too much Rugby” was to be heard on many lips.

Really though it was all Tigers as Bristol were struggling to cope with the conditions, the Leicester defence and their more dynamic attacks. Only the plethora of errors by the home side enabled Bristol to stay in the game. Another Leicester attack was thwarted, but Lee Robinson’s high tackle was rightly penalised. Leicester got the ball away to former Bristol player Daryl Gibson (excellent throughout) who, as he looked to quickly pass to the lurking Tom Varndell, was just unable to hold on to the slippery ball. Leicester quickly regained possession as a result of another Bristol error, only for a clear forward pass to end another promising move. Bristol again tried to attack, but once more Leicester forced the turnover. Several phases of play ended with Varndell being forced towards touch and with the Bristol line still intact. It looked to be only a matter of time before Leicester would strike and the impressive Lewis Moody made an outstanding break. However, he chose to pass to his supporting player, who turned out to be the less than speedy Darren Morris, rather than take the tackle and another Leicester chance went begging.

More scrappy play lead to a Bristol penalty as Strange put through a grubber kick and was obstructed as Bristol attempted to follow it up. The kick was made and the score after 25 minutes was, surprisingly, 3 – 3. The kick was quite some way out and in the past couple of games Strange seems to have added a few more metres to his range, which has been coupled with his impressive accuracy. He finishes the season as the league’s top points scorer with 244. Congratulations to him.

Varndell got his hands on the restart, only to lose out to Short. The ball was shipped on by Bristol to Robinson who was then tackled into touch. Leicester struggled to win quick ball at the lineout and opted to kick. Robinson trapped the ball and made a good break downfield. The Tigers were having none of this and drove back through the forwards. Bristol gave away the penalty as they struggled to halt the Leicester surge and the kick went to touch close to the Bristol line. This was dangerous and familiar territory and Leicester inevitably chose to make a catch-and-drive, with George Chuter driven over the line to make it 8 – 3, the conversion being missed.

Leicester now played with great patience, limiting Bristol’s opportunities and going though several phases of play. Finally, a great reverse pass from Murphy to Healey allowed him to rip through a gap in Bristol's midfield defence and the fly-half's long pass sent Varndell over in the right-hand corner for his 14th try of the league campaign. The conversion was badly missed as Murphy slipped and sent the ball skipping across the ground to barely reach the Bristol line. It wasn’t quite as bad as the one were Jon Webb slipped and only just knocked the ball off the mound several years ago, but it was well up there. It was now 13 -3 just before half time.

The second half started better in terms of the meteorology, but not for Bristol’s chances to get back into the game. Play continued to be dogged by errors, particularly from Bristol. Varndell had the chance to show that he can defend, and Bristol gave away a penalty in their eagerness to get hold of the ball. Leicester went for touch and then drove for the Bristol 22. The ball went out to Varndell who knocked on as Brian Lima adjusted his back. Bristol, though, then turned possession back to Leicester and Alesana Tuilagi made a splendid 40 metre break getting the ball to Chuter who went over for his second try. Sam Vesty missed the conversion to leave the score at 18 – 3 after 45 minutes played. Tigers added a fourth, bonus point, try to secure the bonus point just four minutes later. Lewis Moody's tackle on Bernardo Stortoni lead to the full-back spilling the ball and Tuilagi picked up to to cross in the corner for a try that Vesty converted to make it 25 - 3. Varndell then made two Bristol tacklers look foolish, but he was just held out. Tigers were now rampant and as they tried to maul the ball over the Bristol line the maul was hauled down and Ashley Rowden had little choice but to yellow card Geraint Lewis. At least he didn’t go for the penalty try as he did in the MMM2 last weekend.

Leicester again went for the try and replacement Mike Holford found his way over for Leicester's fifth try from close range after 59 minutes. Andy Goode kicked the difficult conversion from the left-hand touchline to complete the scoring at 32 - 3. The game was now effectively over and both sides made a number of replacements which did not help the continuity or structure of the game. Leicester appeared to have several injuries, which may be of concern when it comes to the pay-offs in the Championship semis. They even ended the game with Moody out on the wing.

Bristol strove for a consolation try and replacement Jake Rauluni chipped the Leicester defence with the ball then worked out via Lima to Robinson, who was well tackled 10 metres out. Bristol then went for a clever scissors move in midfield but it failed to open a hole in the Tigers defence. Although Bristol kept possession for longer than at any other time they were unable to find a way through and eventually gave away a penalty for crossing just as it looked as though they had finally fashioned an opening. There was still time for Leicester to attack after a great dummy from replacement Harry Ellis. As so often before, the move ended in a turnover which Bristol then promptly knocked on as the game drifted to its conclusion.

A disappointing end to the season for Bristol as too many errors in a disjointed match gave away possession to a well drilled and experienced home side. However, those who have had limited opportunities and were relatively untested at this level had the chance to prove themselves capable of performing in the Premiership, and on the whole did well. Bristol did not cope well with the conditions in the first half and their relative lack of cohesion throughout the game, but particularly the second and third quarters was to prove the telling difference.