Five try scorers helped to bring five competition points back for Leicester Tigers from Bristol on Easter Sunday.
In front of more than 15,000 fans at Ashton Gate Stadium, Tigers secured a bonus-point, 19-36, away win to move into second place on the Gallagher Premiership table with only four rounds remaining in the 24/25 campaign.
It took just three minutes before the first try of the game, when Adam Radwan got across the chalk for the Tigers opener.
The opportunity for the Leicester wing came after a Jack van Poortvliet break deep inside the Bristol half and after being taken down yards from the line, the scrum-half popped the ball off the floor to the speedster in support.
Handré Pollard, who ended the game with 4/5 from the kicking tee, missed his first for the afternoon from out wide to mean it was only a five-point lead.
The lead only last six minutes after the Bears levelled it up at 5-5 in the tenth, thanks to the freakish skills of Kalaveti Ravouvou who produced a brilliant pass from the floor for Gabriel Ibitoye out wide to run it in untouched.
AJ MacGinty was unable to add to the tally with his sideline attempt going wide.
Both sides were willing to try their hand in the sunny, warm conditions in attack and defence, which helped Tigers register their second after a loose pass from Bristol near halfway was swooped upon by OIlie Hassell-Collins.
The Leicester wing ran it in and dotted the ball down under the posts, which meant Pollard had no trouble adding the extras to take back the lead for Tigers, which remained in their favour for the rest of the game.
A dominant driving maul helped set up van Poortvliet in the 24th minute for the visitor’s third and Pollard converted, before he added a penalty-goal late in the first-half to see his side lead by 17 points, 5-22, at the break.
Joe Heyes was shown a yellow card shortly before the break which meant Leicester were down to 14 for the opening eight minutes of the second-half and had to manage the side when it came to scrum time, seeing Olly Cracknell subbed for Will Hurd to cover the front-row.
Ravouvou crossed just five minutes into the second-half and MacGinty converted to cut the deficit to 12 points, which it stayed as until the hour mark when Freddie Steward sliced through to get the bonus-point score for Tigers.
Pollard was on target from the tee to extend the lead out to 17 points, with just over 15 minutes remaining, but Harry Randall crossed soon after and MacGinty added the extras to cut it back to ten points with just over ten minutes to go.
However, despite Leicester receiving a second yellow card for the match, this time for Solomone Kata, and the best efforts of the home side to get themselves back into the game, the Tigers defence held strong.
Kata returned with only minutes left on the clock and with the clock in the red, any chance of a losing bonus-point for Bristol was put to bed with the Leicester pack pushing their way over and Cameron Henderson scoring the fifth and final Tigers try.
Jamie Shillcock, who replaced Pollard in the dying stages, added the two points to make the final score 19-36.
More than 23,000 tickets have been sold for next Saturday's Gallagher Premiership fixture at Mattioli Woods Welford Road which doubles as this season's JTC Takeover Day.
Spaces at the crucial clash with Harlequins are filling up fast. Make The Obvious Choice and get your ticket sorted now before it's too late.
Commentary
BIG WIN ON THE ROAD
Five points to bring back to Leicester from Bristol!
CON | BRISTOL BEARS
We are back to a 10 points difference after a successful conversion for Bristol.
TRY | HARRY RANDALL
The home side hit back almost immediately and score through Harry Randall.
CON | HANDRÉ POLLARD
Handré converts to make it a 17-point lead.
TRY | FREDDIE STEWARD
Quick hands to the left and Freddie Steward finishes in style with a dummy and fancy footwork to slice through!
CON | BRISTOL BEARS
The conversion is successful and the gap is now 10 points.
TRY | BRISTOL BEARS
The home side score first in the second half, through Kalaveti Ravouvou, to cut the deficit to 12 points.
BACK UNDERWAY IN BRISTOL
We are back in action in Bristol!
LEAD AT THE BREAK IN BRISTOL
A strong first half means we go into the break with a 17-point, 5-22, lead in Bristol.
YELLOW | JOE HEYES
We are down a man for the next 10 minutes after a yellow card for Joe Heyes.
PEN | HANDRÉ POLLARD
Handré Pollard extends the lead by three points.
CON | HANDRÉ POLLARD
Handré Pollard converts to extend the lead to 14 points after 25 minutes.
TRY | JACK VAN POORTVLIET
On the back of a dominant driving maul, Jack van Poortvliet scoots from the back of the pack and dives over for our third!
CON | Handré Pollard
Handré Pollard convertys from in front to take the lead to seven points, 5-12, after almost 20 minutes.
TRY | OLLIE HASSELL-COLLINS
Both sides moving the ball in the sunshine and it's Ollie Hassell-Collins who swoops on a loose pass from the home side before running it 50m to score!
TRY | BRISTOL BEARS
The home side level the scores with a try out wide to Gabriel Ibitoye who is gifted an inventive pass by Kalaveti Ravouvou to set him up for the try.
TRY | Adam Radwan
Jack van Poortvliet finds space deep inside the Bristol half and pops off the ground for Adam Radwan in who support, who does the rest himself to get over for our first!
HERE WE GO!
Our Easter Sunday showdown with Bristol Bears is underway!