WATCH: Semi Radradra’s all-court final ever Bristol Bears appearance
Bristol Bears put on quite a show against Gloucester at Ashton Gate on Saturday in the final game of the Gallagher Premiership season and the final ever appearance for the Bears for a host of their players.
Plenty of those players made sure they went out with a bang, none more so than Semi Radradra, who bagged two tries in Bristol’s 36-21 win.
But it was not just about tries for the Fijian as he also produced some massive hits in the midfield and put on an offloading masterclass at times. That included one pirouetting offload which would have been one of the offloads of the season had it gone to hand.
His tries weren’t bad either, particularly his first as he exhibited some raw power to crash over the line. The second was slightly stranger as it saw him crop up at the back of a maul, but the pack probably allowed a centre to come in and steal their glory seeing as it was his final game.
Despite the win though, Bristol were unable to secure a Heineken Champions Cup spot next season as they were pipped by Bath, who beat a second-string 61-29. Both sides finished level on 47 points, but Bath had a superior points difference. It was superior only by seven points, which made it quite a bittersweet ending for many of the players.
Take a look at Radradra’s performance:
Reflecting on the events of the final round of the season, Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam said: “When we saw the Bath selection all the focus was on our game.
“We knew we had to get four tries because they were going to get that and that game could run away. We did tremendously well to stay with our game and build the score.
“The penalty try Charles went for it because we had to and we knew it was our last chance. It was always going to be tough when we saw the Saracens selection.
“In the game we were all checking, it was an unusual situation. He could kick the ball out, we win the game, it’s all over, then Bath score and we lose by three. At that stage we had to play because we were behind.
“It has been an unusual season. People look at the outcome and the final placings but there is a lot of good in what we have done.
“I haven’t got a problem with what Saracens did. When you have done what they did you have earned the right to do it, so I have got no issue with Saracens and we would probably have done the same thing. We shouldn’t have been in that situation.”
