Plymouth Albion 8 Bristol Rugby 33: What a difference a fortnight can make. Two weeks after being out-thought and out-fought at Doncaster, Bristol came through their latest tricky away assignment with flying colours.

Having responded to their surprise defeat in Yorkshire with an impressive eight-try victory over Coventry, the true test for Bristol was always going to be whether they could maintain their form in Devon.

And, after riding their luck at times throughout a low-key opening period, Paul Hull's men made Plymouth pay in spectacular fashion after the break to claim a bonus point.

They blew their hosts away with three tries in a razor-sharp 15-minute spell, with scores from David Blaney, Luke Arscott and James Phillips, coming after Phillips and Jason Spice had crossed in the opening half.

The manner of their victory, in treacherous conditions, answered many of the questions that had been raised following their defeat at Doncaster.

And full-back Arscott, who scored on his return to his hometown club, believes the last two performances and results have got Bristol's season firmly back on track.

With promotion to the Guinness Premiership being decided via end-of-season play-offs this term, Arscott knows Bristol's early-season defeats against Exeter and Doncaster will be little more than blips if they continue to play as they did at Brickfields.

"Had we been in this situation last year, I think we'd have all been pushing the panic buttons a little bit, having lost two of our first nine games," said Arscott.

"But with the new format, we've been able to relax a bit going into these last two games and concentrate more on our performance. I think we've shown a lot of people what we can do in our last two games and hopefully we can keep building on that.

"Everywhere you go in this league is tough. We went to Doncaster a few weeks ago and got turned over, so we can't take anything for granted in this league. We're going to have to keep performing to our maximum to pick up all the results we want."

On Saturday they certainly did that, hitting top form to ensure a five-point haul from a fixture that has regularly troubled sides with promotion ambitions down the years.

Plymouth may not be the force they once were, but they certainly made Bristol work before the break – and should have at least had parity at half-time but for Kieran Hallett's wayward goal-kicking.

The full-back missed his first three kicks at goal – including one from right in front of the sticks – as Bristol shaded a tight opening period.

They took the lead on 12 minutes after backing their powerful, in-form pack over the option of taking an easy three points. Adrian Jarvis kicked a penalty to touch, Bristol's driving maul proved too much for Plymouth, and Phillips peeled away to score.

The otherwise outstanding Phillips blotted his copybook when seeing yellow for an alleged punch on 39 minutes – and, when Hallett finally found his range to make it 5-3, it looked as though Bristol's 14 men would be under pressure.

But, instead, they rallied and scored a second try shortly before the break. They moved the ball wide from a quick line-out, with Junior Fatialofa and Arscott carrying with purpose, before Jarvis and skipper Spice combined on the left.

The scrum-half had plenty of work to do when collecting the ball from his half-back partner, but slalomed his way to the line past several Plymouth defenders to score a superb try. Jarvis converted for a nine-point interval lead.

Bristol Rugby lost another man to the sin-bin shortly after the break, Arscott seeing yellow for killing the ball – "I thought it was harsh," he said – and Plymouth almost instantly conjured what proved to be their only try of the afternoon.

From a scrum, fly-half Alex Davies played in Ben Mercer and the winger finished off to make it 12-8. Hallett missed the kick, ensuring he ended with a tally of three points from a possible 14.

With four points between the sides and Bristol down to 14 men, Plymouth appeared to have a degree of momentum. But the next score was a Bristol try – and it sparked a spell of dominance that showed just what they are capable of.

The source was again the pack, with Bristol driving a line-out and hooker Blaney tunnelling his way to the line. When Jarvis converted, the visitors' lead was 11 points.

That soon became 18 when Arscott picked up a loose ball 35 metres out after James Merriman's fierce tackle had caused Plymouth to lose possession. He raced to the line to bag Bristol's bonus point.

There was still time for Phillips to add a fifth Bristol try to put the seal on a stunning victory. He finished an impressive team move, taking Blaney's pass after good work from Spice and Junior Fatialofa to score from close range.

Arscott added: "We started a bit slowly – and had they kicked their kicks in the first half it might have been a different story – but we're pleased to come here and get a bonus point. We were expecting a really tough game – and in the first 40 minutes we got that.

"We should have gone in at 12-12, but in the second half we put in a good defensive display and showed some attacking skills in the torrential weather."