It was a case of 19th time lucky for Bristol as they clinched their first ever
league victory over their West Country rivals Bath in a hard-fought clash at the
Memorial Ground.
The two teams had met on 18 league occasions prior to this afternoon's
encounter, with Bristol losing all but one of those games and drawing the
other.
But they brought that dismal run to a close thanks to a fine second-half
performance which saw Bath out-fought up front.
All of Bristol's points came from Argentine duo Augustin Pichot and Felipe
Contepomi, with Pichot touching down for a try after the break and Contepomi
kicking the rest. In reply, the visitors could only muster three penalties.
Bath scrum-half John Preston had the opportunity to give his side a six minute
lead but his penalty was caught in front of the posts by second row Alex Brown
who was lifted several feet into the air by his fellow Bristol forwards.
Tempers boiled over moments later as props Darren Crompton and John Mallett
exchanged punches while on the floor, but the incident went unpunished by the
referee.
Bristol should have scored a try in the 16th minute when they had a clear
overlap but they persisted in driving around the ruck and the opportunity was
lost.
However, Bath were subsequently penalised for encroaching off-side and
fly-half Contepomi slotted over the ensuing penalty.
The boot of Contepomi increased Bristol's lead to 6-0 in the 25th minute as
the home side started to push Bath on to the back foot.
But there were far too many errors from both teams as the match developed into
a scrappy, stop-start affair.
Preston kicked an easy penalty two minutes before half-time as Bristol entered
the break 6-3 ahead.
The home side made a blistering start to the second period as they laid siege
to the visitors line.
Bath defence began to creak under the pressure and they were forced to concede
a penalty just five metres short of their line.
Scrum-half Pichot took a quick tap penalty and crossed over the line with a
pair of Bath players attached to him for a try improved by Contepomi.
Bristol increased their lead to 16-3 in the 48th minute when Contepomi slotted
over a penalty conceded by Dan Lyle for a professional foul. Lyle's infringement
also earned him 10 minutes in the sin bin.
Fly-half Shaun Berne then reduced the deficit with two penalties, but it was
too little too late for Bath who were unable to add to their score again.
Zurich man of the match: Alex Brown.
Teams:
Bristol: Best, Rees, Simone,
Davies, Nabaro, Contepomi, Pichot,
Johnstone, McCarthy, Crompton, Archer, A. Brown, Salter,
Vander, Sturnham.
Not Used: Williams, Sheridan, Fullman, C. Short, Baber,
Marsden, Bowen.
Tries: Pichot.
Cons: Contepomi.
Pens: Contepomi 3.
Bath: Voyce, Thirlby, Maggs, Cox, A. Adebayo, Berne, Preston,
Barnes, Long, Mallett, Borthwick, Haag, G. Thomas, Clarke, Lyle.
Not Used: Cooper, Mears, Emms, Bellinger, Williams, N. Thomas,
Lloyd.
Pens: Preston, Berne 2.
Sin Bin: Lyle (49).
Att: 6,335
Ref: Chris Rees (RFU).
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