Bristol Bears vs Northampton Saints

Penalty to Bristol for a deliberate knock-on. Bedlow can win it...

Bristol have possession as the clock ticks down, but Saints. holding firm at the moment. Nervous moments here.

Fish hits Isiekwe and Saints secure the ball. Mitchell boxes and wins some territory.

Dingwall puts in a massive shot in midfield, and Proctor backs it up at the breakdown to win a penalty! Grayson find touch inside the Bristol half.

Bristol are trying to put pressure on the Saints' lineout as they find touch, and Fish's throw is not straight to hand back the ball just inside the 22.

Mitchell is everywhere and he charges down Bedlow's kick! But the fly-half scrambles back to touch down and Bears have a drop out.

Brilliant defence from Saints again and hard work wins a turnover inside Bristol's half. Deft hands from the forwards send Mitchell through a gap, but he is brought down by Purdy!

Saints caught offside and that's a huge shame as Bristol are let off easily.

Midfield scrum for Saints as a Uren box goes too long. And WHAT A KICK from Mitchell into the corner. Outrageous from the 9.

Eden misses left of the posts again as Naiyaravoro replaces Collins.

Northampton win a scrum as they pressure Bristol's handling with quick line speed, but yet another penalty goes against them at the scrum as Luke Pearce doesn't like what he sees.

Replacements for Saints; Van Wyk, Mitchell and Painter into the action for Waller, Taylor and Franks.

All of a sudden this game has got a lot more frenetic, with Bristol eventually winning a penalty in front of the posts. News filters through that both Francis and Marshall have failed their HIAs, as Eden misses the kick at goal.

Crucial turnover from Ribbans! Northampton right back on their own line as Bristol drive from the lineout, but the second row gets over the ball and Saints celebrate.

Luke Pearce blows for a reset after an almighty shove from Saints on Bears' ball. And as the next one goes down, the visitors are penalised. Harsh on Northampton.

Saints work some space down the left. Really nice play from Collins to find Dingwall, but once Northampton recycle, Ratuniyarawa knocks on and Bristol get the scrum on halfway.

Another HIA as James Fish comes on for Marshall, and Bristol have a scrum on the edge of the 22.

Scrum penalty for Bristol on the restart, and Eden's penalty finds touch inside Northampton's 22. But as Bears look to build the phases, Marshall goes down and we stop again.

Fraser Dingwall comes on, but Francis jogs off encouragingly for his HIA.

We've a stoppage straight away here as Francis goes down and referee Luke Pearce stops play.

20 seconds remain in the half but Taylor makes an error with the box kick and it goes out on the full, giving Bristol one last opportunity to attack before the break.

Crucial penalty won by Owen Franks at the scrum! Saints clear to outside the 22 as the clock ticks towards 40.

Bristol win back the ball however right on Saints' line, and after working the ball from left to right and back again, Bears look to have gone over in the left corner...but the TMO lets Northampton off as he spots a knock-on from the hosts in the build-up!

Bristol run another good play down the left, but after stopping the hosts a big Saints counter ruck wins back the ball!

Saints are pinged for an infringement in the lineout, and Eden knocks it into the corner for Bristol. Northampton will be keen to keep this out before the break.

Both sides test each other with box kicks, but Taylor overcooks one and Uren calls for the mark, before clearing to touch.

Uren hits it out on the full to hand Saints a great attacking opportunity inside the Bears' half. Just a few minutes remain in the half.

Nice grubber from Taylor forces Purdy to take the ball into touch, so Saints gain some ground. The rain starts to fall as Proctor makes a dart down the short side. But Hughes gets over the top of the ball for the hosts and Bristol win a penalty.

Penalty for Saints from a lineout and Grayson clears to inbetween the 22 and halfway.

Purdy sends a good kick over the top and into touch inside Northampton's 22, putting the pressure back on the visitors. Taylor boxes but Bears attack now from deep.

A poor clearance from Bristol keeps them penned on the 22, and Saints have the throw. Marshall hits Isiekwe and Northampton looking dangerous again...but Wood just knocks on down the short side.

A burst from Francis sees the centre go through the middle! He's caught by the last man but Saints keep possession and Grayson looks to chip over the top, but his kick just evades Wood and heads into touch.

Eden strikes his kick well but it just drifts left.

Bristol get some territory after a cheap penalty in the middle of the park. Saints defending inside their own 22 as Bears build the phases.

Another turnover from Wood at the breakdown! The back row have some fire in their belly tonight. Grayson slams the penalty into touch.

Marshall's throw is a little long, but despite Bristol regathering the ball, Francis is up quickly to force an error. The centre is unlucky to knock-on in the tackle so Bears get the scrum.

Just the start Northampton wanted tonight! They collect the kick-off and after Taylor clears into touch, Waller and Wood attack Bristol at a breakdown and come up with a turnover!

Francis makes a big hit on O'Connor and Proctor strips the ball, handing Saints possession inside the Bears' half. Another scrum but Northampton get the put in.

Northampton move the ball through the hands right then left, and after a ball goes loose from Isiekwe, Bristol also knock-on and we're back for a scrum.

Proctor gets over the ball and wins another turnover! An assured start from Northampton and Marshall then hits his man at a lineout for Saints to start an attack.

Ludlam wins the turnover and Grayson clears into touch! Some respite for Saints and Bristol are back to halfway.

Early attack for Bristol gets them right up to the tryline but Saints scramble well to keep them at bay.

The teams are back in the sheds and it's not long to wait now for kick-off. No sign of the rain that was forecast here in the West Country so we're left with a bitterly cold, but very still evening – perfect for rugby.

Attack coach Sam Vesty was on media duty this week, and had a powerful message for the Saints squad ahead of what is sure to be a tough challenge against one of this season’s title contenders.

“We're really disappointed with a poor result and a poor performance last weekend but we're staying strong and we're all in it together,” he said.

“We know where we need to make improvements and we failed for a good chunk of that last game, which hit us hard.

“There's no quick fix, it's about creating habits on the training pitch that we can take into the games at the weekend.

“In professional sport, there's always pressure and it's about how we deal with it.

“It can either make us go small and make our decision making slow or we can enjoy that pressure and get big and strong and go and show the world what we can do.”

And here’s how our hosts line-up this evening…

BRISTOL: Purdy, Adeolokun, O'Conor, S Piutau (capt), Leiua, Bedlow, Uren, Woolmore, Byrne, Lahiff, Attwood, Joyce, Heenan, D Thomas, Hughes
Replacements: Capon, Y Thomas, Afoa, Holmes, Eadie, Randall, Eden, Fricker

Tom Collins makes his 100th appearance for Northampton tonight on the wing, while Scotland international Rory Hutchinson starts at centre for the first time this season. Owen Franks comes into the front row, while Henry Taylor is preferred at scrum-half for the trip to the West Country.

SAINTS: Tuala, Proctor, Francis, Hutchinson, Collins, Grayson, Taylor, Waller (co-capt), Marshall, Franks, Ratuniyarawa, Ribbans, Isiekwe, Ludlam (co-capt), Wood
Replacements: Fish, Van Wyk, Painter, Uru, Adendorff, Mitchell, Dingwall, Naiyaravoro

We’re in place at a very fresh Ashton Gate as Saints take on Bristol Bears this evening in their third Gallagher Premiership clash of the season! Chris Boyd’s side will be itching for a win to end a disappointing run of results for the men in Black, Green and Gold, and the Kiwi Director of Rugby has made three changes to the starting XV that went down to Harlequins last weekend…