Bristol Rugby's impressive first-half effort secures win over Rotherham
After stuttering displays against London Welsh and Birmingham & Solihull, Paul Hull's side finally began to look like the sum of their parts in a blistering first half against Rotherham.
They were ruthless and clinical, running in five tries to build a 29-3 lead that hinted at complete dominance, only for the match to somewhat fizzle out after the break.
They displayed enough cutting edge during that opening period, however, to suggest they will be firmly involved in the promotion shake-up at the end of the season.
The in-form Dan Norton went over twice before the break, with James Merriman, Mat Turner and Junior Fatialofa also crossing as Bristol banked a try-scoring bonus point inside the opening 33 minutes.
Replacement Dan Montagu – on for the unfortunate Bertrand Bedes, who hobbled off 11 minutes into his Bristol debut – added a sixth after the restart, before Brad Hunt scored a deserved try for Rotherham late on.
And with Bedford, Exeter and Cornish Pirates – the only other Championship sides to have made 100 per cent winning starts – up in their next three matches, Bristol finally sent a warning to the rest of the division.
"We are pleased with a lot of the aspects of the first half," said head coach Hull. "We got a little bit sloppy at times, but we scored five tries and looked clinical at times.
"We had a lot of good field position and played with width and dynamism. I was really pleased with the first half.
"We talked at half-time about coming out in the second half and raising it again, but we didn't get field position and we ended up having to defend for the majority of the half.
"We performed well in the first half – we just need an 80-minute performance, which we haven't had yet."
Bristol adjusted seamlessly to the loss of Bedes and opened the scoring three minutes after his exit.
They drove a line-out deep into the Rotherham 22 after kicking a penalty to touch, and skipper Jason Spice popped out of the back to set up Norton, who went over to score in his third successive Championship match.
Adrian Jarvis missed the conversion, as he did when man-of-the-match Merriman added a second Bristol try four minutes later.
The flanker was alert at the back of a line-out as Rotherham overthrew – and powered his way to the line, past two visiting defenders, from 20 metres.
Jonny West gave Rotherham hope when landing a penalty to make it 10-3 – but Bristol turned up the tempo and Turner scored a sublime third try, racing in from 60 metres after taking Jack Adams' pass.
And the bonus point was secured on 33 minutes, Fatialofa going over from close range from Jarvis' pass after Bristol had patiently worked through the phases. A fifth try looked on the cards when Luke Arscott was stopped a metre short a minute before the break – and Bristol capped a scintillating first-half display with a second Norton try in injury-time.
Rotherham's defence was stretched as the confident home side kept the ball alive in the 22 – and Fatialofa eventually played in the supporting Norton, who made no mistake.
There was to be no repeat of Bristol's attacking master-class after the interval – and the hosts spent much of the half defending their own line.
Rotherham kept Bristol penned in for lengthy periods – but were unable to capitalise on their territorial superiority and conceded a sixth try when Hull's men eventually broke free.
Montagu supplied the finishing touch to an excellent team move, with Jarvis converting to give Bristol a 36-3 lead.
But it would have been unfair on Rotherham to leave the Memorial Stadium without scoring a try – and they finally found a way past Bristol Rugby's resolute defence in the closing minutes.
Bristol, with Norton in the sin-bin and Turner receiving treatment, were down to 13 men when full-back Hunt took Sam Dickinson's pass to score from close range.
"One aspect from the second half which was positive was our defence," said Hull.
"In the end, when we were down to 13 men, we eventually conceded, which was a bit unfortunate.
"But there were some real positives, and when we did get out of our half and got field position, we scored from it.
"Let's not forget we made nine changes and one positional from the side that played at Birmingham & Solihull.
"We deliberately haven't had consistency in selection. We're trying out new combinations and new partnerships and when we do have a settled team, hopefully things will tick over a lot better."
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