Bristol Rugby get cup campaign off to a winning start

Neath 11 Bristol Rugby 18: Bristol's youngsters ensured the club's British & Irish Cup campaign got off to a flying start with a thoroughly deserved victory at the Gnoll.

Paul Hull and John Brain made 12 personnel changes to the side that had beaten Nottingham in the Championship five days earlier – and watched their young understudies stand up to the challenge in Wales.

Tries from Iain Grieve and Sam Alford gave Bristol the Pool B victory as no fewer than seven players made their competitive first-team debuts.

On an encouraging evening for Bristol, the Championship side were slicker and sharper than their Principality Premiership opponents, creating more opportunities in attack and playing at a higher intensity.

Recent signing Sam Giddens showed glimpses of his ability in a 28-minute cameo from the bench, while fellow debutants George Watkins and Jack Gadd were heavily involved in the opening try.

And all of Bristol's youngsters made a telling contribution to a victory that will send Hull's men to Munster for their next pool game on Friday brimming with confidence.

Bristol also showed character and fight by coming back to win the match after seeing a seven-point lead become a one-point deficit shortly after the break.

The visitors took a 10-3 lead into half-time, with Neath rarely threatening during the opening 40 minutes.

Despite playing at home and facing a youthful side, the Welsh All Blacks were slow to start – and it was Bristol who took the lead.

Just as their first-choice players have been doing in recent weeks, Bristol elected to send a kickable early penalty to touch.

And when that option did not yield a tangible reward, they chose to kick the next penalty, with Chris Ashwin sending the ball between the uprights after Neath infringed at a ruck.

The lead lasted little more than two minutes, though, with former Bristol man Arwel Thomas levelling matters with a penalty of his own when the visitors were caught offside at a ruck.

Neath forays into Bristol territory were few and far between, however, and it was the away side who set the tempo with some courageous and inventive play.

It did not always come off, with lock Darren Barry penalised for holding on after Bristol had driven a line-out into the Neath 22.

But the visitors' persistence paid off on 31 minutes when Grieve scored the opening try of the match.

The architect of the try was 19-year-old winger Watkins, making his competitive first-team debut, who launched a counter-attack with a stunning 40-metre break.

He carried the ball from Bristol's half to the Neath 22, shipping the ball to fellow teenager Gadd, who then played in the supporting Grieve to score under the posts.

Ashwin landed the simple conversion to give his side a deserved 10-3 lead.

If the Bristol coaches' half-time message had been 'more of the same', their players took only 15 seconds to forget their words.

The away side were penalised for not releasing deep inside their own territory – and Thomas made no mistake with the resulting penalty, his kick making it 10-6.

Eager to build momentum, Neath kicked a penalty to touch and earned a 10-metre line-out – only for Bristol's defensive pressure to force a knock-on, giving the visitors a scrum.

But it was from this Bristol scrum that Neath stole possession and took the lead for the first time in the match.

Bristol secured set-piece ball, but when Robbie Shaw passed to Watkins on the blindside, the winger was hit by an almighty tackle and scrum-half Kevin Farrell pounced on the loose ball to score. Thomas failed to convert, but Neath had an 11-10 lead after 50 minutes.

Ashwin then missed a penalty, which would have given Bristol a 13-11 lead, before making no mistake when presented with an opportunity from an almost identical position.

Bristol were awarded the penalty when Neath lock Peter Sidoli was penalised – and yellow-carded – for being offside at a ruck, and Ashwin kicked his side back in front.

Bristol, having recovered from the earlier blow of losing the lead, were now on top – but passed up another chance for three points by kicking for touch, where they subsequently knocked on at the line-out.

Bristol were by far the more adventurous side – and continued to create chances.

And they claimed a deserved second try with five minutes remaining, shunting Neath back over their own line on the home side's scrum, with scrum-half Alford pouncing to seal the victory.

Neath: G King; K James, S Thomas, W Mitchell (G McCarthy 69), K Morgan (A Jenkins 17); A Thomas (capt), K Farrell (T James 74); N Downs, G Price (A Littlehales 60), M Jones (J Reeves 77), P Sidoli, N Edwards (H Pugh 60), E Evans, L Evans (C Price 74), G Gravell.

Scorers:Try – Farrell. Pens – A Thomas (2).

Sin-binned: Sidoli (64-75, persistent infringement).

Bristol Rugby: J Tovey (M Davies 77); M Turner, L Eves, J Gadd (S Giddens 52), G Watkins; C Ashwin, R Shaw (S Alford 69); A Clarke, O Hayes (R Johnston 56), D Crompton (capt; M Vunipola 63), J Brown (B Glynn 56), D Barry, N Budgett, R Pennycook, I Grieve (M Mama 72).

Scorers: Tries – Grieve, Alford. Con – Ashwin. Pens – Ashwin (2).

Sin-binned: Johnston (80, dangerous tackle).

Referee: D Phillips (Ireland).