Northampton Saints were defeated in the Gallagher PREM for the first time this term, as a 35-point first-half deficit proved too much to overturn and saw the Ashton Gate clash finish 46-12 in Bristol Bears' favour.
Phil Dowson’s side were instantly on the back foot in Round 6, as they lost Edo Todaro to a 20-minute red card after just 90 seconds. And Bears capitalised on the opportunity, wrapping up the try-bonus point before the interval with five tries.
Saints did get themselves off the mark after half-time, when JJ Van Der Mescht crashed over and while Tom Litchfield added a sublime second for Northampton, two Bristol penalties and a final home try sealed the win for the hosts.
FIRST-HALF:
Saints’ task was immediately made difficult at Ashton Gate, when Todaro made contact with Sam Worsley in the air as the Bristol fly-half attempted to take a high ball. The Italy winger was shown a 20-minute red card for his actions and Saints were down to 14 men after just 90 seconds.
Bristol instantly made use of their extra man and scored an early brace; first opting to scrum a penalty inside Saints’ 22 with Kieran Marmion sniping over from the base, and then letting their forwards truck the ball up into Saints’ 22 once again before Tom Jordan slipped through under the posts.
Worsley’s two conversions made it 14-0 and the home side’s lead stretched further after 15 minutes, when soft Bristol hands set Harry Thacker free on the right wing. The hooker got himself close before it was Marmion sniping over for his second.
Rory Hutchinson entered play after Saints’ 20-minute red card period drew to a close but Northampton’s fates didn’t improve before the break. Bristol thought they’d added their fourth through Thacker and though that effort was chalked off after a trip to the TMO, the home side did eventually get their try when Kalaveti Ravouvou scooped up loose ball and ran in from the halfway line.
And Bristol would add a fifth before half-time, putting pressure on Northampton’s five-metre line before a gap opened up out wide for Aidan Boshoff to dive over.
Worsley stayed clean from the tee, sending the score to 35-0 with his fifth conversion as the teams entered the changing rooms for the interval.
SECOND HALF:
Saints clawed their way onto the scoresheet after half-time, with a period of pressure seeing them barge their way into Bears’ 22 before Van Der Mescht stretched over from close range – while fly-half Fin Smith added the conversion.
Bears were awarded a penalty at the scrum just after though and Worsley made no mistake from the tee to give Bristol another three points.
Northampton scored a Try of the Season contender on the hour mark, sending the ball through the hands neatly before Hutchinson pulled it back for captain George Furbank. Saints’ skipper raced forwards and drew his defender before dropping the ball onto his boot for Litchfield to chase – and while the centre (who had since shifted to the wing) still had work to do, he rounded Bears’ last line of defence to dot down.
Worsley added another three to Bristol’s tally after 74 minutes, when Saints were found off their feet at the breakdown, and Saints found themselves down to 14 men again when injury forced try-scorer Litchfield from the field with Northampton’s bench already depleted.
Bristol, again, used their extra man instantly and sent their driving maul over off an attacking lineout to see Luka Ivanishvili score and end the match with the scoreline swung 46-12 in the home side’s favour.
Saints head into the Investec Champion Cup next weekend, with a trip to Section Paloise first up for Northampton in the competition they reached the final of last term.
LINE-UPS:
Bears: 15 Jordan, 14 Bates, 13 Janse van Rensburg, 12 Williams, 11 Ravouvou, 10 Worsley, 9 Marmion; 1 Woolmore, 2 Thacker, 3 Chawatama, 4 Rubiolo, 5 Batley, 6 Grondona, 7 Harding (c), 8 Mata.
Replacements: 16 Oghre, 17 Lahiff, 18 Halliwell, 19 Owen, 20 Ivanishvili, 21 Wolstenholme, 22 Rees-Zammit, 23 Boshoff.
Saints: 15 Furbank (c), 14 Todaro, 13 Litchfield, 12 Thame, 11 Caqusau, 10 F Smith, 9 McParland; 1 Iyogun, 2 Wright, 3 Davison, 4 Prowse, 5 Van Der Mescht, 6 Kemeny, 7 Graham, 8 Chick.
Replacements: 16 R Smith, 17 West, 18 Kundiona, 19 Benson, 20 Pearson, 21 James, 22 Hutchinson, 23 Pater.