Louis Rees-Zammit scored a remarkable try for Bristol Bears against Leicester Tigers, but the night ended with referee Luke Pearce branding him "rude" and declining to speak to him.
The Wales winger touched down inside the opening 10 minutes of the Premiership match, bursting from a standing start to weave between multiple defenders and outpace would-be tacklers before diving over between the posts. TNT Sports commentator Nick Mullins described the score as "breathtaking" and "box-office."
Referee's frustration boils over
The disagreement came after a scuffle between both sets of players that saw Bristol penalised, with Rees-Zammit appearing to challenge Pearce over what he thought was an advantage signalled earlier in the play. Pearce became frustrated as the Welshman made his point.
"I suggest you go away now," Pearce said. "I suggest you go away now."
"I'll happily talk to you," he added, addressing Bristol's captain, "but this guy is being absolutely rude. Away."
Rees-Zammit continued to mutter in frustration as he retreated in the 79th minute.
Leicester secure top spot
The game ended with Leicester claiming an impressive 22-16 away win that leaves them top of the table, with Bristol in third ahead of Saturday's matches.
Wales duo Aaron Wainwright and Gabriel Hamer-Webb were on the winning team, with all three Welshmen appearing to come through the game unscathed as they return to Wales camp ahead of next week's autumn opener against Japan.
Bristol boss Pat Lam bemoaned the loss of two players to the sin-bin as his side managed only one try. "We conceded two tries in the sin-bin period and that ultimately was pretty crucial," he said. "Zam scored a great try and our defence was amazing, but we couldn't build any pressure throughout the game."
"We lost too many line-outs which stopped us from getting any attacking platforms so we did well to hang in there right until the end to get a bonus point," Lam added.
Genge reflects on defeat
Bristol prop and former Tigers captain Ellis Genge said: "I'm upset with the loss and it's tough to take, especially the manner in which we lost. It was tough with two yellows but we could have ground our way out, but they stuck to their guns and out-muscled us which is disappointing."
