Despite eight minutes of injury time at the end of the second half holders
Wasps bowed out as Bristol fly-half Felipe Contepomi scored all his sides's
points.
Bristol now face Newcastle at Kingston Park next Sunday while Wasps have to
look to a major improvement in their league performance to salvage anything from
this season having already been ruled out of the later stages of the Heineken
Cup.
This was a repeat of last season's semi-final and marked the return to action
after a three-week break for a thigh injury of Lawrence Dallaglio for Wasps and
Garath Archer to the Bristol line-up for only his second competitive game of the
season.
It was the third meeting of the two sides this season with Wasps winning both
the pre-season friendly in New Orleans and the Premiership game at Loftus Road
in September.
Bristol led 9-8 at the interval but it was the visitors who scored the only
try of the half, centre Rob Henderson sprinting in from 35 metres after stepping
out of an attempted tackle from Zimbabwean international prop Paul Johnstone.
Scotland wing Kenny Logan was wide with the touchline conversion attempt but
added a 22-metre penalty from in front of the posts. Bristol's reply came
through their Argentine international fly-half Contepomi with three of his four
penalty attempts.
Logan put the visitors back in front 10 minutes into the second half with a
30-metre penalty after Archer was warned by international referee Chris White.
Contepomi and Logan exchanged penalties before, with five minutes remaining
Contepomi intercepted a pass from Henderson and raced 45 metres to score under
the posts before adding the conversion
The Puma then added salt into the Wasps' wounds slotting a 30-metre drop goal
but the visitors kept battling away with Logan landing his fourth penalty but
there was no way to breach the Bristol line.
Teams:
Bristol: Best, Rees, Simone, Davies, S. Brown, Contepomi,
Pichot, Johnstone, McCarthy, Fullman, Archer, A. Brown,
A. Short, Vander, Sturnham.
Not Used: Nelson, Crompton, Sheridan, Salter, Baber,
Ogilvie-Bull, Dewdney.
Tries: Contepomi.
Cons: Contepomi.
Pens: Contepomi 4.
Drop Goals: Contepomi.
Wasps: Lewsey, Roiser, Denney, Henderson, Logan,
King, Wood,
Le Chevalier, Leota, Green, Beardshaw, Reed, Worsley, Volley,
Dallaglio.
Not Used: Page, Scrase, Sampson, Birkett, Lock, Macer, Mace.
Tries: Henderson.
Pens: Logan 4.
Att: 3,133
Ref: Chris White (RFU).