SATURDAY WRAP: Alex Lozowski booted a penalty with the final kick of the game as Saracens claimed a thrilling 37-35 victory in the English Premiership over Bristol to go top of the table.
Bristol captain Fitz Harding scored three tries to put Bristol in the driving seat – scrumhalf Harry Randall and wing Toby Fricker also touched down – but Saracens showed admirable resilience.
Elliot Daly scored two tries, with wing Rotimi Segun and flank Toby Knight also scoring, while Lozowski kicked 17 points.
Saracens boss Mark McCall hailed an “amazing backs-to-the-wall victory”.
“I have been at the club a long time and I can’t remember a win like that one,” he said.
“There were so many occasions when it felt like they were on top, and somehow there was this fighting spirit among the group.”
Flyhalf AJ MacGinty landed two penalties and two conversions for Bristol.
His penalty restored an eight-point advantage for Bristol just before the hour mark but Saracens remained in the contest as an absorbing encounter moved towards its closing stages.
When Daly pounced for his second try with nine minutes left, again converted from wide out by Lozowski, the game was back in the balance.
And Lozowski dramatically settled the contest.
Bristol rugby director Pat Lam said: “I am proud of the effort, the way we played. We blew a lot of opportunities and one thing with Saracens is if they stay in, they have a chance. That is their history.
“Probably at the end, we tried to close the game out too early when we had a scrum. It is a good learning. But I cannot fault the effort.”
All the Saturday scores and scorers follow below …
Bristol Bears 35-37 Saracens
The scorers
For Bristol Bears
Tries: Harding 3, Randall, Fricker
Cons: MacGinty 2
Pens: MacGinty 2
For Saracens
Tries: Knight, Segun, Daly 2
Cons: Lozowski 4
Pens: Lozowski 3
Yellow cards: Gabriel Ibitoye (Bristol Bears, 14), Alex Goode (Saracens, 42)
Teams
Bristol Bears: 15 Rich Lane, 14 Toby Fricker, 13 Jack Bates, 12 Joe Jenkins, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Fitz Harding (captain), 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 James Dun, 5 Joe Batley, 4 Josh Caulfield, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 George Kloska, 19 Joe Owen, 20 Benjamin Grondona, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Sam Worsley, 23 Benjamin Elizalde.
Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Tobias Elliott, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Josh Hallett, 11 Rotimi Segun, 10 Alex Goode, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Toby Knight, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Theo Dan, 1 Rhys Carre.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Phil Brantingham, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Nathan Michelow, 21 Gareth Simpson, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 Brandon Jackson.
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Gareth Holsgrove
TMO: David Rose
Harlequins 24-26 Bath
The scorers
For Harlequins
Tries: Dombrandt, Isgro 2
Cons: Smith 3
Pen: Smith
For Bath
Tries: Pepper, De Glanville, du Toit, Van Wyk
Cons: Russell 3
Yellow cards: Tom Dunn (Bath, 28), Guy Pepper (Bath, 60)
Teams
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Oscar Beard, 12 Luke Northmore, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Will Porter, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Will Evans, 6 Jack Kenningham, 5 Dino Lamb, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Fin Baxter.
Replacements: 16 Nathan Jibulu, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Irne Herbst, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 James Chisholm, 22 Danny Care, 23 Jarrod Evans.
Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Austin Emens, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Guy Pepper, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Ewan Richards, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Jaco Coetzee.
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Craig Maxwell-Keys, Greg Macdonald
TMO: Christophe Ridley
