Ex-France star leaves SIX defenders in his wake, scoring a glorious solo try

Jared Wright
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Bristol Bears Virimi Vakatawa during the Premiership Rugby clash against Newcastle Falcons.

Bristol Bears Virimi Vakatawa during the Premiership Rugby clash against Newcastle Falcons.

Former France and Racing 92 centre Virimi Vakatawa carved up the Premiership on Friday evening, scoring a stunning solo try for Bristol Bears.

The 31-year-old breezed past six Newcastle Falcons’ defenders, grabbing a match-defining try for his side.

“One-man destroyer”

It was a gritty, hard-fought encounter at Kingston Park on Friday evening as Harry Thacker gave Bristol an early lead before Louie Johnson’s penalty, meaning that Newcastle trailed 3-6 at the break.

While the Falcons clawed their way to within one point of the Bears through Rory Jennings’s penalty, they were absolutely floored by Vakatawa, who ripped their defence, scoring a game-changing try.

Vakatawa received the ball from centre partner Benhard Janse van Rensburg from what looked to be a stock-standard set move from a lineout.

However, the ex-France international skipped past multiple defenders with a swift step off his left foot and charged into his space. He then palmed off the next attempted tackle and raced into the 22 where he again stepped off his left foot to evade the covering defender.

From there, he managed to slip through three more attempted tackles before diving over the line.

“Can anyone stop Vakatawa? Absolutely NOT!” the commentator exclaimed.

“He is a one-man destroyer, irrepressible, unstoppable, incredible!”

Callum Sheedy added the extras on the score, with Gabriel Oghre scoring in the 76th minute to seal the result for Bristol, who have now gone back-to-back in the Premiership after defeating Gloucester before the league took a break for the European rugby action.

His route to Bristol

Vakatawa made the move to Bristol after he was forced to announce his retirement in September 2022. The discovery of a medical condition related to his heart meant that the 32-Test cap Les Bleus centre was banned from playing professional rugby in France.

However, in July 2023, he turned out for a Pat Lam-led Barbarians outfit and, a month later, signed a deal with the Bristol Bears.

“Following an independent review by an expert panel of leading sports cardiologists, Vakatawa has been granted clearance to return to the professional game and agrees a deal until the end of the 2023/24 season,” a Bristol Bears statement in September read.

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