Malins on his marks for sprint to the line

MAX Malins says he's gearing up for what promises to be a 'sprint finish' in the race for this season's play-offs in the Premiership.

- MARK STEVENS

The 27-year-old was in scintillating form as Bristol Bears maintained winning their streak with a hard-fought victory over local rivals Gloucester last time out.

It was a success that helped keep Pat Lam's side, who had seen off Sale Sharks, Bath and Northampton Saints in successive games, firmly in the shake-up for one of the four play-off spots with just four rounds of battle left in the regular season.

"We sort of looked at this latest two-week block and knew what we wanted out of it," Malins told The Rugby Paper.

"I think we can be very pleased that we've come out of it with ten points.

Obviously, Gloucester have turned the corner a bit with their form in these last two weeks, doing Leicester over twice, so we knew it was going to be a tough challenge coming here.

"That said, we've dug deep, we've played well and we're really pleased with the win and to pick up the five points."

Bristol's impressive form of late has helped claw the Bears up to fifth in the current standings, two points adrift of the top four, and well placed to attack the final weeks of the campaign.