Exeter Chiefs 16 Bristol Rugby 25: The next time these sides meet, the stakes are likely to be considerably higher. But the visitors' stunning bonus-point win yesterday confirmed the momentum is firmly with Paul Hull's side heading into 2010.

Exeter and Bristol – the best two teams in the Championship by a considerable distance – are almost certain to meet again in the end-of-season promotion play-offs.

No meaningful honours will be decided until then – but by scoring four tries at Sandy Park, Bristol have stamped their authority all over English rugby's second tier.

After a sluggish start to the campaign, Hull and John Brain's men have now won seven league matches in succession, collecting 34 points from a possible 35 in the process.

Their performance in yesterday's top-of-the-table bout carried all the hallmarks of a side that has found its feet and is heading towards greater heights.

Bristol soaked up a great deal of pressure in the first half but still led 10-6 thanks to David Blaney's try – before further touchdowns from Tom Arscott, Roy Winters and James Phillips delivered the most treasured of the 10 bonus points they have claimed so far this season.

What was an eight-point deficit at the head of the Championship is now a four-point advantage as the new year approaches – and Bristol are looking well worth their lead.

"I said it would be a slow start to the season, but now we've got used to the competition and we've got used to the expectation level," said Hull.

"I'm really proud and really pleased with where we are at the moment – but it's nowhere near done yet.

"At the same time, it's good for the players to have a bit of inner confidence. They've got the belief but sometimes that has got to be shown with results and performances.

"We've done that here – and that's the most pleasing aspect of this game."

Hull had made no attempt to play down the significance of the trip to Devon – and his players responded with a mature display against a side who won their opening 13 league matches but have now lost their last two.

Bristol had to overcome early disruption, too, when Junior Fatialofa was sent to the sin-bin and then Luke Arscott hobbled off with a hamstring injury.

But they kept their composure throughout – and Hull even allowed himself to feel disappointed by Exeter's 74th-minute consolation try, scored by Nic Sestaret.

"We've talked about being clinical at crucial times – and we did that," said Hull.

"It was always going to be a tight affair, but when you get opportunities you've got to take them – and we did. I was a bit disappointed to concede a try late in the game, but I'm really pleased with the win, because we put a lot of hard work into this.

"After we lost at Doncaster, we really looked within ourselves and tried to focus on a few areas of our game. We've done that and we've got a little bit of momentum which we want to keep going now."

Yesterday, when they twice fell behind early in the game, Bristol remained true to their principles and showed no signs of panic.

Gareth Steenson kicked Exeter into an early lead after the hosts had enjoyed a five-minute spell of possession, before Adrian Jarvis brought it back to 3-3 with a penalty.

And even when Fatialofa saw yellow for tackling Paul McKenzie off the ball and Steenson restored the Exeter advantage, Bristol's focus did not waver.

Luke Arscott's premature departure could have had a negative impact, yet instead it appeared to galvanise Bristol.

As it turned out, Arscott's replacement – his own brother, Tom – set up a try for Blaney with his first touch of the ball and Bristol did not look back.

A line-out was worked inside and then back out, with Arscott giving the impression he was going to head to the line himself, before offloading to Blaney on the left wing. The hooker did the rest – and Jarvis converted for a 10-6 half-time lead.

This advantage came despite the fact Bristol had conceded 13 first-half penalties to Exeter's four.

"We wanted to start well and assert our authority – but they came out of the traps slightly quicker than us," said Hull.

"We also contributed to giving them some field position and momentum by giving away the ball and getting penalised a lot at the breakdown. I thought the referee had a good game – it was just that we gave away silly penalties."

Exeter looked set to threaten when Steenson narrowed Bristol's lead to a point shortly after half-time – but any comeback was quashed when the visitors responded with two tries in as many minutes.

First Tom Arscott went over, taking Jack Adams' pass and skilfully slipping through the home defence to make it 15-9, before Bristol punished a midfield error from Exeter by launching a swift counter-attack that ended with Winters scoring his first try in 66 games.

With those two blows, Bristol had effectively ended the game as a contest.

They did not sit back on their laurels, though, with Phillips powering over to secure the bonus point after a typically destructive line-out drive. The significance of the try was illustrated by Lee Robinson, who sprinted from one wing to the other to join the celebrations.

A late Exeter rally caused brief concern, with Sestaret taking Danny Gray's pass to score under the posts. When former Bristol man Gray converted, it was 25-16 with six minutes to play.

But Bristol have learned how to close out matches – and their steely determination denied Exeter even a losing bonus point.