By Ian Todd
December 18 2014

Bristol had near total dominance of territory and possession but failed to make as much of it as they could.  In the first half they had any number of scoring chances but only converted two.  The second half display lacked the control of the first and unsurprisingly there were fewer opportunities and fewer scores.  Two late tries from Scottish made the game look closer than it truly was, but the failure to turn so much pressure into points is disappointing

Bristol kicked off and were quickly on the attack, an onslaught that scarcely ceased throughout the half.  The opening try was soon on the board when Kyle Traynor was driven over by the posts for a converted try.  An error at a lineout briefly gave possession to Scottish but solid defence soon saw normal service resumed and a fine kick from Nicky Robinson took play well into the visitors’ half.  An excellent clearing kick from Scottish once again pushed Bristol back into their half but Robinson and George Watkins interlinked superbly to carry the ball well into Scottish territory.  It looked for a moment as if Watkins was over in the corner after Jack Tovey sliced the defence apart, but the move was called back for crossing.

This was another brief respite for Scottish as Bristol quickly regained possession and recommenced their assault on the Scottish line.  At last the defence cracked when Mark Lilley was shown yellow for persistent infringements.  I don’t know what Sottish have done to him, he was never sin-binned when he was with us!  Almost immediately Bristol made the extra man count when the catch-and-drive from the resulting lineout rumbled over the line and Ben Skirving touched down for a try that was well converted by Robinson.  Just a minute later it appeared that Bristol had scored again, but after some discussion the officials ruled it out for some inexplicable reason, a forward pass maybe.  This left the score at 14 – 0 at the close of the half.

After near total domination of territory and possession Bristol really should have been much further ahead.  Surely they would manage to click in the second half?  Not really, would be the answer.

Initially the signs were good with a fine flowing move following a powerful drive from the pack and play switching from side to side.  Scottish were penalised but Bristol elected to run the penalty.  It wasn’t quickly tapped and it did not appear to be a planned move and rather slowly made some ground before a soft penalty for holding on was conceded.  Scottish cleared well and Bristol gave away another penalty.  Scottish pressed forward but clumsy handling gave Bristol possession and allowed them to clear the danger.

The half continued in this inconsequential way for the remainder of the first quarter before Robinson eased Bristol further in front with a penalty goal.  Bristol’s continued territorial dominance, and a rare take against the head, was rewarded when replacement Gaston Cortes plunged over the line with what was probably his first touch of the ball for an unconverted try and a score of 22 – 0.

Bristol had chances for the bonus point try but a combination of resolute defence, poor decision making and sloppy handling meant that the hosts came up short.  Not so Scottish who, after getting perhaps just once into the Bristol 22 scored two quick-fire, but far too late, tries.  First it was Alex Brown (not the former Bristol player) in by the posts and then Matt Williams (the former Bristol player) with what may have been his first touch of the ball demonstrated his pace and mazy running to cruise through most of the defence and his strength to power through Jack Wallace’s tackle for a fine try.  Someone tell me again why we let him go.  Both efforts were converted to leave the final score at 22 – 14.