Bristol down Scarlets
Bristol backed up their Guinness Premiership form with a superb 18-11 victory over Llanelli Scarlets in their EDF Energy Cup opener.
Last Updated: 28/10/07 6:07pm
Bristol backed up their Guinness Premiership form with a superb 18-11 victory over Llanelli Scarlets in their EDF Energy Cup opener.
Home side Bristol followed up a run of three wins out of four with a powerful performance to defeat the beaten finalists from two years ago.
Fly-half Rhys Priestland gave the Magners League side the lead after just five minutes at the Memorial Stadium, as he sent a 40-metre penalty through the posts.
David Hill answered for Bristol with a similar penalty just two minutes later and they went on to move ahead with the first try of the match.
Winger Lee Robinson had gone close minutes before he eventually received the ball after a scum in front of the posts, and he beat the full-back to cross the line after 18 minutes.
Number eight Andrew Blowers increased Bristol's lead on the half-hour as they built on their power at the scrum when awarded penalties, and Blowers managed to get the ball down over the line after a driving maul.
After trailing 15-3 at the break, substitute Stephen Jones made it 15-6 with a second penalty for Llanelli three minutes after the restart, but Hill replied for Bristol a minute later to restore their 12-point lead.
The Scarlets pressured Bristol in the closing stages, and the home side were reduced to 14 men in the final quarter-hour when Neil Bew was yellow-carded for an infringement at the tackle.
Bristol managed to hold out though, with Morgan Stoddart's last-minute try coming too late for the Welsh side.
