Rees-Zammit and Ibitoye score as Bristol beat Parling’s Leicester

The Prem.

Bristol Bears (17) 42

Cons: Jordan 4 Pens: MacGinty, Jordan 2 Oghre, Carrington, Rees-Zammit Tries: Harding, Ibitoye, Ibitoye, Oghre, Carrington, Rees-Zammit

Tigers of Leicester (17) 24

Bristol Bears defeated Ashton Gate to end their Prem campaign, opening the season with a 42-24 victory for new Tigers of Leicester coach Geoff Parling.

After AJ MacGinty’s penalty and Fitz Harding’s score for the Bears, Jack van Poortvliet went over and Adam Radwan crossed twice to make it 17-10.

Before Tom Jordan’s penalty and an assist from Gabriel Ibitoye’s try, Bristol were 10 points clear at the break.

Orlando Bailey cut the deficit, but Josh Carrington’s Prem debut score made it even more impressive before Louis Rees-Zammit’s last-gasp try earned the Bears a victory.

Bristol’s exciting backs division, which Rees-Zammit made his first top-flight appearance since joining the NFL in January 2024, was anticipated to have much to offer.

And the Wales international skillfully added gloss to a hard-earned victory by scoring in the final embers with a stunning burst of speed from within his own half.

Bristol’s forward muscle, however, was crucial, allowing them to recover the initiative in two of their first three tries and wreak a number of penalties at the break.

After MacGinty led Bristol, Tigers’ adventure earned the win, causing Will Wand to start the pace down the right touchline before van Poortvliet arrived via Ollie Hassell-Collins’ slick offload.

Then Radwan extended Leicester’s lead by crossing the line with his right foot after three challenges.

As Harding made his 100th appearance and his 50th as captain, Bristol burrowed over from close range, with Jordan taking over the kick duties on his Prem debut and adding the extras.

Although Bailey’s long-range penalty attempt fell off the right-hand post, Radwan’s second try, this time with a superb one-handed diving finish, soon extended Leicester’s lead.

In a seesaw first half, the hosts responded when Ibitoye, the team’s joint-leading try scorer last year, was quickly able to run into the left corner unchallenged.

And Jordan added two more conversions to bring the score to 2-1 at half-time with Bailey also missing two.

Before Oghre peeled off the back of an unstoppable forward drive to put the hosts 10 points clear, Jordan scored the opener with a penalty before Jordan and the hosts were already two goals ahead.

Bailey, one of six Leicester debutants, dived over to reduce the deficit to three, but the Bears had no response to a clever Bristol move and Carrington’s acceleration, which gave them a two-score advantage.

Replacements: Carrington, Grahamslaw, Chawatama, Owen, Mata, Marmion, Ravouvou, and Thacker.

Leicester: Radwan, Wand, Woodward, Hassell-Collins, Bailey, van Poortvliet, Smith, Blamire, Heyes, Henderson, Thompson, Liebenberg (c), Ilione, Cracknell, and Steward, Radwan, Wand, Woodward, and others.

Replacements: Kata, Whiteley, Haffar, Hurd, Manz, Moro, Hurd, and Searle.