Bristol Bears

Bristol Bears 36-43 Harlequins (AET) - Quins reach Twickenham after stunning fightback

Tries from Max Malins (two), Ben Earl and Luke Morahan put Bristol 28-0 up in as many minutes before Alex Dombrandt replied on the stroke of half-time.

Tyrone Green, James Chisholm and Louis Lynagh scores quickly cut the gap to 28-24 and Joe Marchant's late try sent the game into extra time at 31-31.

Green and Marchant tries either side of Malins' third sealed a remarkable win.

Quins will play Exeter in the final, with the defending champions seeing off Sale 40-30 in Saturday's second semi-final.

Bristol prop to become Bears scrum coach

The 37-year-old former New Zealand forward will continue to be part of the playing staff next term.

He succeeds Alasdair Dickinson, who is returning to his native Scotland for personal reasons in the summer.

Dickinson moved to the Ashton Gate club last summer on a three-year deal having been Scotland's scrum coach since 2018 after retiring from playing.

"Jonny has been planning and preparing for a few years to transition into coaching so I'm very pleased to add Jonny to our coaching team from next season," director of rugby Pat lam told the club website. 

Radradra starts again as Bristol Bears make 9 changes for Exeter Chiefs

Piers O’Conor also returns from a neck injury to start when Bristol welcome table-topping Chiefs to Ashton Gate on Tuesday (7.45pm KO).

Director of Rugby Lam makes nine changes from the side that secured a seventh successive Premiership victory over Gloucester in round fifteen.

Charles Piutau and Luke Morahan are recalled to the backline, while Harry Randall is also included.

In the pack, Max Lahiff and Bryan Byrne are named in the front row, while Ed Holmes and Dave Attwood form the second row partnership. Dan Thomas is selected at openside.

Frustration over Radradra and Tuilagi being starved of the ball for their new clubs

Fans were widely anticipating the Bristol Bears and Premiership debut of Fijian powerhouse Radradra, who arrived at the club from Bordeaux, after his sublime showing at the Rugby World Cup in 2019.

England centre Tuilagi completed a high-profile transfer from Leicester Tigers to Sale over the break, bringing one of the world’s most dominant ball carriers to an already power-packed roster.