Bristol club captain Jason Spice admits that his team should have lost to Bedford Blues earlier in the season when they scraped a narrow 6-5 victory.

But he hopes that tomorrow night's home game will be a different encounter, thanks primarily to the confidence which is running through his team.

Two shut-outs in the last two weeks, he claims, has shown that, defensively, Bristol are on top of their game.

The 35-year-old Kiwi scrum-half, who returns to the squad after missing the last couple of weeks through injury, said: "Bedford are no slouches.

"We should have lost to them last time we played them at their place.

"They play an exciting game of rugby and like to throw it about a bit. They work hard as a forward pack and they have some pace and a good back line."

But it is the new vigour which has been instilled in the defence which Spice says is so pleasing.

He added: "It is about building confidence and what we have seen in the last couple of weeks is that we have played two teams who haven't scored against us.

"That's something that hasn't happened too many times this season when we have let in silly tries when we've had games won.

"There is a different attitude defensively both as individuals and as a team. The commitment is really there.

"Defence is all about a collective system and individual attitudes and if you look back at the last few games you can't accuse players of not having the right commitment and attitude.

"You only have to drop off five or 10 per cent individually and it affects the team's performance overall. Some people might say that on paper we have a strong team but that's when we are at our best.

"We have to try to mix our game up a bit and not be too predictable which we have been guilty of once or twice this season. At the moment we are trying to look at different ways of breaking teams down.

"Depending on what sort of weather we get it should be a fast open game and although it looks as though it is going to get cold we aim to be as committed and physical as possible to get on teams like this.

"We want to play an exciting and entertaining game but we have to make sure that we win and whichever way that is we will take it."

Spice admits that the break for the British & Irish Cup games has interrupted the flow of the season.

He said: "A month ago we finished the first half of the season quite well but since then we've had a couple of cup games. There can be a bit of a drop off but hopefully we are now back on our game and regaining the momentum and building towards the end of the season.

"It is a tough one to get your head around knowing that we are virtually in the play-offs at the moment and the temptation to hold something back in reserve for the end of the season.

"But you have to get the balance right. Now we have a bit of depth to our squad and it is about fighting for positions on the field."