Paul Hull got the reaction he wanted from his Bristol players as they returned to winning ways with a clinical bonus-point victory at Camborne Rec.

Beaten for the first time this season in their previous match against Exeter, Bristol Rugby combined first-half grit with second-half ruthlessness to claim their third straight away win.

Head coach Hull had warned his players to reduce their error-count following their 35-26 home defeat to promotion rivals Exeter – and they responded by producing a mature performance in Cornwall.

The forwards laid the foundations for victory with a dogged display in the opening 50 minutes, mastering difficult conditions before four tries in the final half an hour blew the hosts away.

Luke Arscott, Dan Norton and Redford Pennycook all crossed, before Bristol's set-piece dominance saw them earn a bonus-point-clinching penalty try.

The only slight setbacks on a day of positives for Bristol were Pirates' injury-time try and the groin injury that kept skipper Roy Winters out of the match. But Hull was understandably a happy man after seeing his side cut Exeter's lead at the top of the Championship to three points after six matches.

"We talked at half-time about being patient with the ball – and if you're patient you will get your rewards, which we did," said Hull.

"The line-out was outstanding and the scrum was dominant – and those were the foundations for us to play.

"We talk about being ruthless at times – and I think we showed that in the second half.

"We were a bit disappointed in the first half, but in the second half we really turned it round.

"It was a gritty performance in difficult conditions and I thought we ground out a very, very good win. There are a lot of positives to come from this."

Bristol fell behind to an early Aisea Havili drop goal – and the swirling rain made it difficult for either side to play with any great tempo.

The impressive Adrian Jarvis levelled with a 30-metre penalty on 18 minutes – but Rhys Jones nudged the hosts back in front with a penalty of his own nine minutes later. But Bristol's pack, with Sambucetti running the line in the absence of Winters, managed the opening period well and forced another penalty, which Jarvis coolly slotted to ensure parity at the break.

Pirates had contained Bristol during the opening period – but their resistance was broken when the visitors cranked up the pressure after the restart.

Jarvis kicked his side into a 9-6 lead, before four tries in 23 minutes underlined Bristol's attacking potency and turned a tight contest into a one-sided romp.

Full-back Arscott was the first to go over, finishing a sweeping move which had involved Jason Spice, Jarvis and Jack Adams after Redford Pennycook had carried the ball into the 22 following a line-out.

Arscott still had a bit to do when he received the ball out wide – but slipped between Nick Jackson and Tyrone Holmes to score a fine try.

Their second try owed everything to Norton's incredible pace and self-belief. He was 55 metres from the line when he received the ball following another line-out – but hit the gas and had far too much speed for the covering Rob Cook and Rhodri McAtee.

From a 9-6 lead after 50 minutes, Bristol were 21-6 up and fully in control after 54.

But they kept up the intensity and continued to probe, battering their way through for a third try when Pennycook broke away from a line-out drive shortly after the hour mark.

The move had started when Pirates lost possession on their own scrum and Spice hacked down-field, prompting the covering Havili to concede a penalty for not releasing.

With their line-out in fine form, Bristol justifiably kicked to touch and reaped the rewards.

It then became a case of when, rather than if, the bonus point would arrive. Bristol's dominance at the scrum had earned them several penalties – but they were unable to strike off the back of them.

But when, a few minutes later, a Pirate knocked on five metres from his own line and Bristol had the home scrum in all kinds of difficulty, referee Keith Lewis had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try.

Jarvis converted to finish with a personal haul of 15 points – and the only task remaining for Bristol was to ensure the Cornishmen did not score a try.

They failed on that count, McAtee wriggling his way over in injury time, with Cook converting to add a degree of respectability to the scoreline.

But the damage had long been done – and Bristol will host Moseley on Friday with the positive memories of their finest performance of the season so far very much at the forefront of their minds.