Paul Hull watched his Bristol Rugby side continue their winning start to the Championship campaign – and then played down the significance of their top-of-the-table clash with Bedford.

Second-placed Bristol – who beat Rotherham 36-10 yesterday – head to leaders Bedford on Saturday, with both sides having taken 14 points from a possible 15 so far this season.

But head coach Hull believes it is far too early to be placing any great importance on the fixture.

"I'm not going to highlight certain teams – I think every week is a test," he said.

"I'm not going to blow this game up to something it isn't – it's only the fourth game of the season.

"Let's not try to make this a cup final – it's just another league game and we're steadily going forward."

Bristol produced a scintillating display in the opening 40 minutes yesterday, building a 29-3 half-time lead and securing a try-scoring bonus point inside the opening 33 minutes.

But they faded after the break and spent much of the second period defending their line as Rotherham dominated territory and possession.

"The first half was good. We just need to put two good halves together, but we'll get there," said Hull.

"We are building and that was definitely a better performance from us. We know that we can perform like that – and we always knew that. It was just a case of getting those pieces into place.

"The games are going to get tougher, especially in the next couple of weeks, but we're happy to keep performing better each week – that's what we're trying to do.

"We're not fully there yet but we're heading in the right direction. That's the main message – we're definitely going in the right direction.

"We're on track – we got a bonus-point win and we scored some good tries. We didn't quite get the territory and field position in the second half but we held out and that's another positive to take from this."

Bristol, who made nine changes to the side that won at Birmingham & Solihull eight days earlier, had to re-jig their new-look back row after only 11 minutes yesterday.

Debutant Bertrand Bedes damaged his knee and had to be helped from the field by two members of Bristol's medical staff. He was later using crutches.

Hull said: "I'm really disappointed for him, because he was really looking forward to this game. It looks like it's his knee, but we're not sure how serious it is yet."

Bristol Rugby winger Mat Turner and hooker Ross Johnson both hobbled off with ankle injuries to give the head coach some concerns ahead of Saturday's trip to Goldington Road.