New back-row recruits James Merriman and Dan Montagu marked their debuts with first-half tries as Bristol stuttered to an unconvincing win over Clifton in their opening pre-season friendly last night.

The home side have beaten Bristol only eight times in 174 meetings since 1889, and a ninth success was never on the cards because of the gulf that separates the newly-named Guinness Championship and National Two South.

But the opening 40 minutes were a triumph of sorts for Clifton who, despite being overwhelmed in the scrums, defended with great determination as Bristol fell foul of referee Mike Tutty and were guilty of a string of basic errors and turnovers.

Pierre-Alex Clark missed an early penalty for Clifton before Bristol, playing in their new maroon away kit, wasted a golden chance to take the lead in the 15th minute, Junior Fatialofa's close-range effort under the posts being ruled out because of a forward pass.

But concerted pressure told for the visitors soon after when Clifton were pushed off the ball at a scrum five metres from their own line and Merriman, a member of Wales' World Cup Sevens-winning squad in March, pounced for the try, Adrian Jarvis converting.

Australia-born Montagu, a recruit from Nottingham, repeated the trick 10 minutes later when Bristol again made their superiority count in the scrum, the No 8 crashing over from close range, Jarvis again converting for a 14-point lead. Clark missed a 15-metre penalty for Clifton before the home side deservedly got on the board on the half-hour.

Darren Berry intercepted a loose Jarvis pass 30 metres out and ran in for a try, with Andy Bell converting.

Bristol should have added to their tally before the break. But flanker Iain Grieve's final pass after a weaving 40-metre run, which took him to within touching distance of the line, went to ground and winger Lee Robinson knocked on.

Bristol made more of an impact in the second half as both sides emptied their benches, but it was still desperate stuff at times, with Jarvis in particular out of sorts with his distribution of the ball.

Hooker Ross Johnson, a summer signing from Cardiff Blues, claimed the first try of the second period, muscling over from a couple of yards out, with Jarvis converting.

And concerted pressure then led to a penalty try for Bristol, Jarvis adding the extras.

Late touchdowns from Tom Arscott and replacement George Watkins gave the final scoreline a more flattering appearance for Bristol.

Paul Hull's men will have to seriously raise their level of performance before the opening league match against London Welsh at the Memorial Stadium on September 6.

Clifton: S Kent; D Venn, A Golledge, A Bell, O Sacco; P Clark, A Jones; L Glass, S Wilkes, B Purbrook, B Glynn, D Barry, D Cook, D Taylor-Menzies, H Tovey.

Bristol: L Arscott; L Robinson, J Fatialofa, L Eves, T Arscott; A Jarvis, J Spice; A Clarke, R Johnson, W Thompson, R Winters, N Budgett, I Grieve, J Merriman, D Montagu.

Referee: Mike Tutty (Hertfordshire).

Scorers – Bristol, tries: Merriman, Montagu, Johnson, T Arscott, Watkins, Penalty. Cons: Jarvis (4), Davies (1).

Clifton – try: Barry. Con: Bell.