Premiership: Bristol 29-38 Harlequins - Champions edge 10-try thriller

Harlequins' win at Ashton Gate completed a Premiership double over Bristol Bears

Champions Harlequins came from behind to beat Bristol Bears in a 10-try Premiership thriller at Ashton Gate.

Quins winger Cadan Murley scored twice in the opening five minutes to give the visitors a 14-0 lead.

Bristol, who scored four tries in an end-to-end game, fought back to take the lead in the second half.

But Quins took advantage of a Fitz Harding yellow card in the second half to secure victory with a bonus point as they ran in six tries altogether.

The result leaves Harlequins one point behind second-placed Saracens in third, while Bristol stay 10th on 35 points.

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Bristol were two tries down before they had even got going, the first coming from good Harlequins pressure before Murley caught a loose Harding pass to run through for the second.

The home side hit back with tries from captain Steven Luatua and Sam Jeffries, who were both injured while scoring and had to be replaced.

Tom Lawday then scored a third Quins try after some neat work from Danny Care before Bristol scored again with second row Dave Attwood darting between the posts.

Hugh Tizard then managed to hold on to the ball while he juggled to carry it over the line for Quins' fourth try of the first half.

Scrum-half Care was shown a yellow card shortly before half-time and Bears made the extra man count in the second half through Bryan Byrne.

A Callum Sheedy penalty gave Bristol the lead for the first time in the match before a lengthy stoppage after a collision between Harding and Archie White, with the latter removed from play for a head injury assessment.

Bristol were reduced to 14 men as the referee showed Harding a yellow card and Quins drove over the line to retake the lead through Jack Walker in the maul.

Jake Heenan thought he had given the home side the lead again with a brilliant response to going behind but Semi Radradra was judged to be in touch in the build-up to the try.

Substitute Luke Northmore then wrapped it up for the visitors with a late final try.

Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam told BBC Radio Bristol:

"We started off and gave them 14 points.

"We ramped it up and played some very good rugby, we missed a few opportunities and lineouts.

"[In the] second half we got ourselves ahead. We know we can win these games, but we've got to earn the right."

Harlequins assistant coach Jerry Flannery:

"It was a great game and we are fortunate to come out on the right side of the result as Bristol, under Pat Lam, do not deviate away from their belief in attacking rugby.

"When we lost Danny [Care] to a yellow card, we knew we had to make that period more set-piece orientated and I thought we managed his absence very well.

"The game is evolving to make it safer, so yellow and red cards are playing a bigger part in the outcome and no-one wants to lose players so there is a big focus on dropping down to tackle.

"It's been more challenging this year than last as we have had to try and learn to cope with the loss of some key players to the Six Nations."

Bristol: Lane; Leiua, Radradra, Frisch, Purdy; Sheedy, Green; Y Thomas, B Byrne, Armstrong, Attwood, Vui, Luatua (capt), Jeffries, Harding.

Replacements: Kerr, Challenger, Afoa, Joyce, Heenan, Strang, Eden, O'Conor.

Sin-bin: Harding (63 mins).

Harlequins: Green; Murley, Jones, Esterhuizen, Beard; Edwards, Care; Kerrod, Walker, Collier, Symons, Tizard, Lewies (capt), Lawday, White.

Replacements: Riley, Garcia Botta, Louw, Hammond, Wallace, Steele, Northmore, Lynagh.

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys (RFU).

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