Callum Sheedy drop goal gave Bristol Bears a 36-34 win against Lyon. The away side looked to have pulled off one of the all-time great comebacks, having been down 33-10 in the 53rd minute, they took a 34-33 lead in the 77th minute after four tries without reply.
Bristol Bears led 29-10 at the break with wing Rich Lane, flanker Steven Luatua and hooker Harry Thacker scoring in the first half, with scrum-half Harry Randall and replacement Gabriel Oghre adding a further two in the second period after Lyon replacement Alban Roussel was sent to the sin bin.
Lyon themselves got two in the first half, via wing Ethan Dumortier and flanker Marvin Okuya.
But four of their six tries came in a whirlwind period of the second half; full-back Thaakir Abrahams scored twice, with inspired centre and former Bristol Bears player Semi Radradra also going over, while his midfield partner Alfred Parisien thought he had given his side a famous win.
The difference in the end came down to kicking, with Sheedy converting four of Bristol Bears’ five tries while Lyon only kicked the extras for two of their six tries.
But the most important points to come off the boot of Sheedy came with the clock deep in the red; from deep in their own half, and having thrown away a 19-point lead, Bristol Bears worked the ball all the way up to Lyon’s tryline before it was pulled back for a waiting Sheedy, who held his nerve to seal the win in an extraordinary game of Investec Champions Cup Rugby.
Next up for Bristol Bears is a journey to Union Bordeaux Begles, while Lyon will host Vodacom Bulls.
Scorers:
Bristol Bears: Tries: Rich Lane, Steven Luatua, Harry Thacker, Harry Randall, Gabriel Oghre. Conversions: Callum Sheedy (4). Penalty: Kalaveti Ravouvou.
Lyon: Tries: Ethan Dumortier, Marvin Okuya, Thaakir Abrahams (2), Semi Radradra, Alfred Parisien. Conversions: Martin Page-Relo, Alexandre Tchaptchet.
Teams
Bristol Bears: 15 Max Malins, 14 Gabriel Ibitoye, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Rich Lane, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Fitz Harding (captain), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Joe Batley, 4 James Dun, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Jake Woolmore. Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Sam Grahamslaw, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Josh Caulfield, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Sam Wolstenholme, 22 James Williams, 23 Kalaveti Ravouvou.
Lyon: 15 Thaakir Abrahams, 14 Ethan Dumortier, 13 Alfred Parisien, 12 Semi Radradra, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Fletcher Smith, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Mickael Guillard, 7 Pierre-Samuel Pacheco, 6 Marvin Okuya, 5 Killian Geraci, 4 Joel Kpoku, 3 Paulo Tafili, 2 Yanis Charcosset, 1 Sébastien Taofifenua. Replacements: 16 Liam Coltman, 17 Jérôme Rey, 18 Feao Fotuaika, 19 Alban Roussel, 20 Ugo Vignolles, 21 Liam Rimet, 22 Kyle Godwin, 23 Alexandre Tchaptchet.
