Bristol Capitalise on Early Red Card to Thump Northampton
Northampton Saints' unbeaten start to the Premiership season came to a crushing halt at Ashton Gate, as they were comprehensively beaten 46-12 by a ruthless Bristol Bears side. The match was turned on its head after just one minute when Saints' Edoardo Todaro was shown a red card for a dangerous challenge on Bristol's Sam Worsley while he was in the air.
Bristol's Try-Scoring Blitz
Capitalising on their numerical advantage, Bristol wasted no time in taking control. Scrum-half Kieran Marmion opened the scoring, darting over from a quick tap penalty. The Bears' second try came from Tom Jordan, who ran a clever angle to collect a pass from James Williams for a simple run-in.
The try of the game followed soon after, featuring a superb display of inter-passing that bewildered the Saints defence. The move culminated in hooker Harry Thacker bursting down the right touchline, and when he was brought down, Marmion was on hand to pick up and score his second try of the match.
Despite losing wing Jack Bates to injury, Bristol's momentum was unchecked. A powerful tackle by Benhard Janse van Rensburg on Fin Smith allowed Kalaveti Ravouvou to seize possession and sprint 45 metres to score. The first-half demolition was completed when replacement Aidan Boshoff collected a well-timed pass from Worsley to dive over for Bristol's fifth try, giving the hosts a commanding 35-0 lead at the interval.
Saints Fight Back But Bears Secure Bonus Point
Northampton showed more fight after the break and were rewarded with a try from giant lock JJ van der Mescht, who forced his way over following a period of sustained pressure. However, Sam Worsley soon extended Bristol's lead with a straightforward penalty.
Saints scored a second consolation try through centre Tom Litchfield, who won the race to a well-judged kick from George Furbank. Worsley, who finished with a personal tally of 16 points, added another penalty before Luka Ivanishvili finished off a driving lineout to emphatically seal the 46-12 bonus-point victory for Bristol.
Elsewhere in the Premiership
Gloucester secured their first Premiership win of the season with a 26-15 victory over Harlequins. Head coach George Skivington hailed the impact of centre Seb Atkinson on his return from injury. Full-back Ben Redshaw shone with two tries, while Lewis Ludlow and Ollie Thorley also crossed. Ross Byrne kicked three conversions.
Harlequins had taken an early lead with tries from Cadan Murley and Alex Dombrandt, the latter converted by Marcus Smith, but could only add a second-half Smith penalty.
In Friday night's action, Exeter Chiefs staged a remarkable comeback from 26-6 down to inflict a rare home defeat on Sale Sharks, winning 27-26. Tries from Jack Yeandle, Olly Woodburn and Scott Sio, all converted by Henry Slade, completed the dramatic turnaround.
Meanwhile, Leicester Tigers extended Newcastle Falcons' losing start to the campaign with a clinical 39-17 victory, scoring five tries to condemn the Red Bulls to a sixth consecutive defeat.
