Bristol’s long wait for Premiership rugby is over after they defeated Doncaster 60-40 on aggregate at Ashton Gate to win promotion from the Championship., despite Doncaster winning 34-32 on the night.
After three previous play-off final losses to Exeter, London Welsh and Worcester this triumph was long overdue, ending one of the most painful runs of near misses in recent memory.
The 2015 loss to Worcester was especially traumatic, but Andy Robinson and his squad were all smiles this time around.
Full report to follow.
Bristol: Luke Arscott; Jack Wallace, Jack Tovey, Ben Mosses, David Lemi (capt); Callum Sheedy, Will Cliff; Jack O’Connell, Ross McMillan, Anthony Perenise, Ian Evans, Ben Glynn, Marco Mama, Jack Lam, James Phillips.
Replacements: Chris Brooker, Kyle Traynor, Gaston Cortes, Mark Sorenson, Olly Robinson, Martin Roberts, Matthew Morgan
Doncaster: Paul Jarvis; Andy Bulumakau, Mat Clark, Will Hurrell, Tyson Lewis; Dec Cusack, Michael Heaney; Richard List, Ben Hunter, Colin Quigley, Matt Challinor, Jon Phelan, Alex Shaw, Michael Hills (capt), Ollie Stedman.
Replacements: Vili Veikoso, Joe Sproston, Will Griff John, Glen Young, Latu Makaafi, Dougie Flockhart, Brad Field.