Sadly I was unable to maintain my record of turning up two minutes after kick-off; but fortunately Peter B wandered in two minutes late so the omens were good for another Bristol win!

Indeed Bristol started well, driving into the B**h midfield. B**h conceded a penalty as Bristol attacked, but Danny Gray kicked well wide in the gusting wind. Malone then managed, to the glee of the Bristol supporters, to kick the restart dead. Bristol had the opportunity to attack from a dangerous position, only to concede a free kick at the scrum. Astonishingly, Malone, attempting to clear the danger, kicked the ball dead; handing the initiative straight back to Bristol. It was lucky Lee Robinson wasn’t playing as the ball might have ended up in Filton or possibly low-Earth orbit. Bristol clearly decided that they needed to take points from this period of pressure and the ball was whipped back to Gray for a neat drop-goal from the 22 metre line: 3 – 0 to Bristol. Territory and possession were certainly in Bristol’s favour in these early exchanges. David Blaney made a hypnotic run through the defenders from just inside the Bristol half to just outside the B**h 22, but the support was unable to stay with him.

B**h were then able to attack as Matt Perry broke upfield and linked well with Davey, who had a good game, on the wing, before taking the ball back. The ball was knocked on as B**h attempted to recycle after Perry was tackled. However, Bristol were deemed to have gone offside and Malone was able to equalise with his monster boot just before the first quarter concluded.

Bristol were quickly able to restore their lead when Brian O’Riordan, who had a good afternoon, made a good break and was able to get the ball out to the supporting runners. Some good interplay followed and Jason Hobson was on hand to take a smart pass from Geraint Lewis to stumble over the line with his body almost parallel to the ground for the last couple of metres. Gray’s conversion attempt was wide to leave the score at 8 – 3.

B**h compounded their problems when reduced to 14 men following the sin-binning of Malone. As Bristol moved the ball away from a ruck and back downfield, he appeared to trip the Bristol player. Now I thought this was serious foul play according to the laws and surely was either a penalty or a straight sending off? In any event the referee then evened things up to an extent by penalising Bristol for a not straight throw at the lineout. So an act serious enough to lead to a yellow card gives no advantage to the other side. B**h took the opportunity to attack and moved the ball along the line, only for their lock, Fidler, to knock-on under no pressure. The B**h second row were seemingly unable to run and catch at the same time with their 5 also making a similar error from a similar good position. The momentum though was definitely with B**h and there was a curious sense of inevitability as Bell went over in the corner from a well-taken lineout. Berne took over kicking in Malone’s temporary absence, but was narrowly wide with his conversion attempt, leaving the score level at 8 points apiece as the half drew to a close.

Bristol were able to strike early in the second half. O’Riordan made a good attacking run along the touchline but put a foot into touch under the challenge of Davey. There are those (i.e. me) who would argue that it wasn’t a legal tackle in that it didn’t involve the

arms at all, but I suppose this is mere quibbling. Bristol were not long to be denied though, and promptly won the ensuing 5 metre scrum. Walter Pozzebon cut a good line to take the pass from Gray and he dived over by the posts. Gray added the points from the conversion to make it 15 – 8. It was now B**h’s turn to make a quick riposte.

Berne chipped over the onrushing defenders. The ball bounced beautifully as he collected it without having to break his stride. Surprisingly he lacked the pace to make it all the way and was tackled just short by David Lemi. B**h were following up and Stephenson was on hand to pick up and go over. Malone converted to equalise the scores once again.

B**h now applied some concerted and prolonged pressure. Williams was allowed a quick tap penalty even though there he had clearly knocked on moments before. He took his chance well and made 30 or 40 metres only to be tackled just short of the line by Lemi and Gray. The ball was knocked on by B**h, but Bristol were unable to win clean ball from the scrum and gave away a penalty to usher in nearly 10 minutes of sustained pressure right on the try line. B**h took the scrum, another penalty to B**h. A kick to the corner and a messy lineout looked to have resulted in Bristol winning the ball. But no, another penalty to B**h and another lineout. This time Bristol did claim the ball and it was cleared into touch upfield. The relief was palpable. Given the gusting wind B**h seemed to lack the confidence to kick the points and chose the bolder course. It was to prove decisive.

Bristol now were able to relieve the territorial pressure as B**h conceded a number of penalties which allowed Bristol to work their way back into the B**h half. As time ebbed away the referee now appeared to realise that the B**h throw-in at the lineout was just a crooked as Bristol’s and from the kick Bristol were able to get into the B**h 22. Bristol drove down the right and the ball went to Marko Stanojevic who had the strength to brush off an attempted tackle and the acceleration to go in at the corner. Gray judged the wind superbly to make the conversion; 22 – 15 with just over 7 minutes to go. B**h attempted to get back into the game, but never really threatened to get back within scoring range. The surprisingly large crowd counted down the seconds as all Bristol had to do was kick into touch after the last scrum of the game.

Although I find it hard to work up any great enthusiasm for this competition it’s clear I’m in a curmudgeonly minority. And it is always nice to beat B**h. There were some good individual performances and a much changed side delivered an accomplished team performance. The defence was generally excellent and was the foundation of the Bristol victory. Areas to work on include the lineout, although the wind clearly played a part in errors that occurred, and decision-making when playing with the wind and acres of space present themselves behind the attacking line. All in all, though, a very satisfying win.

If anyone wants to write the report on the Gloucester game do send me an email, because I just can’t make it to that one.