The initial moves of the game came from B**h when Lee Robinson miscued an early defensive clearance to give the home side a good territorial position. B**h moved into the Bristol 22 and were rewarded as Bristol gave away the penalty which Barkley was, fortunately, unable to make count. It was Bristol ’s turn to make ground and the kiwi contingent, of David Hill and Neil Brew were prominent in some good quality handling moves as Bristol worked downfield. B**h knocked on as they defended and the Bristol scrum looked to have the edge over their B**h rivals, Brian O’Riordan made a good break around the fringes and was well supported by Nathan Budgett. B**h now conceded the penalty which Hill ably took to make it 0 – 3 with just seven minutes played.

Bristol were then to take a quick throw at the lineout following the restart, made a hash of it and then compounded the error by and (how often have I written this so far this season?) failed to make touch with the scrambled kick. B**h now moved the ball well and Hawkins cut a good line and went in at the far left corner. Fortunately the big screen nearby gave me a good view of the excellent defending as he was tackled and turned into the corner flag and, although it was referred to the TMO the decision was, unsurprisingly, ‘no try’.

B**h were now dominated territory and possession after the early Bristol foray. They kept the ball in hand and worked it through several phases in the attempt to dislocate the Bristol defence and open a breach in the defenders wall. It held firm, only to give away a penalty which B**h elected to kick for the corner. The Bristol lineout was to prove, and not for the last time in the evening, superior and first utterly disorganised B**h’s first effort and then stole the next. B**h attempted to negate the clear Bristol advantage by attempting quick lineouts when the opportunity was available and Bristol were deemed to have gone offside on 20 minutes to give Barkley another penalty chance which, this time, he made to equalise the score at 3 – 3.

B**h were next to score, just a few minutes later when Firstly, Bristol were penalised at the scrum. Frankly I thought B**h struggled in the set piece all evening, certainly when the play was in my corner of the pitch they were obviously under pressure, but the referee felt otherwise. Barkley was well wide with his effort, but the respite for Bristol was short-lived. Bristol gave away another penalty at a maul and Barkley punished Bristol with a fine kick from near the touchline. 6 – 3 to the home side.

Bristol now attempted to take on the B**h forwards and Dan Ward-Smith (surely the form No 8 in English rugby) made a great pick-up and drive from the base of the scrum, sucking in several defenders. A good handling move from the backline saw Bristol into the B**h 22 only for a knock-on to deny Bristol when it looked as if the B**h defence was overstretched. Still Bristol had a chance and managed to regain possession from the B**h clearance. Bristol went through the phases, but to little effect with the B**h defence proving resolute. However, as the Bristol forwards drove on B**h pulled down the maul. With just a few minutes of the half left Bristol elected to take the scrum instead on kicking for goal. Bristol hammered at the defence which held out only by giving away another penalty. It was from a marginally better position and , with time up on the clock, Hill made the late pressure count by bringing the sides in level at six points apiece.

As the second half began, it was B**h who started the stronger with a good forward drive and a great run, poorly defended, by Maddock who took play close to the Bristol line before losing the ball forward. Bristol seemingly took this as their cue to take play back to their hosts. Good driving play saw Bristol move downfield and Brew showed his potential with a neat break. An attacking lineout resulted from a Bristol penalty kick and Robinson was just in touch as he went for the try. Bristol were clearly dominant during this phase of the game and only some desperate defending by B**h kept Bristol out. Inevitably this pressure told and B**h gave away a penalty in front of the posts which Hill calmly took to give Bristol the lead at 6 – 9 with just over 50 minutes played.

Having done all this hard work Bristol were sloppy at a ruck and gave away a difficult penalty chance which Barkley hoofed over to level the scores again. Bristol , creditably, tightened up their play and took the game back to B**h. Brew made a great kick down to the B**h line. The ball went to Robinson who knocked on with the line apparently at his mercy. Replays on the big screen showed him glance at the defender and not the ball. As the Bristol supporters around me complained at this lost opportunity, one chap behind me said “Wait and see, he’ll now go and score the winning try.” Prophetic words.

Before then, though, Bristol had turned over B**h possession and the defending side gave away a penalty chance which Hill duly converted to edge Bristol back in front at 9 – 12. Things remained tight and Bristol played some good controlled rugby as the game moved through the final quarter. As Bristol drove into the B**h 22 the ball was whipped out to Hill who popped the ball up to Robinson cutting back inside. He made no mistake this time as he went through a couple of half hearted tackles from wrong-footed defenders and swerved in near the posts. Hill made the conversion and took Bristol out to 9 – 19. With over ten minutes left to play B**h knew they had to get something out of the match and strove manfully to get through the Bristol defence. The main tactic appeared to be getting the ball out to recent recruit from rugby league, Chev Walker. And a shrewd tactic it was. He had the pace to trouble the Bristol defence, particularly when given some room, as he was several times. Bristol finally gave away a kickable penalty for offside. Barkley dispatched it with ease and narrowed the gap to 12 -19 and took B**h back into losing bonus-point territory.

With the contest drawing to its finale Bristol controlled possession, denying B**h the chance to set up an undeserved draw. In their desperation to get the ball they conceded an eminently kickable penalty but fly-half Hill was inaccurate for the first time of the evening. Bristol maintained a stranglehold on possession and continued to deny B**h a chance at the ball. With the Bristol supporters counting down the final seconds it was left to O’Riordan, aware this week of exactly how much time was left, to take the ball and kick it away into the stand to bring the game to a conclusion and leave Bristol the victors.

This match had a curiously routine feel to it. Given our league record at B**h it was interesting to see a Bristol side so clearly able to control the game in a thoroughly professional and calm manner. There were some good individual performances, although it was the collective determination of the pack that was decisive together with some resolute defending. In contrast, the B**h pack struggled to impose itself and was particularly vulnerable in the lineout. Their well-thought of number 8, Faamatuainu, contributed little to tight play and was frequently seen hanging around in the backs. In fairness he seems a skilled player, but surely not in the back row. Chev Walker, on the other hand, looks an excellent acquisition and perhaps we can take him on when B**h are relegated! For Bristol, this win consolidated their league position and sets up a stern test against Gloucester next Friday. For B**h, it was surely a reminder that they can no longer automatically assume that their home fixtures against Bristol will result in their victory and for the Bristol supporters, who have had some miserable times at the Wreck in recent years (historically speaking!), it was sweet to see the number of B**h supporters leaving the game early while their team should still have been in with a chance.