Bristol edge past Exiles
Bristol claimed their first Guinness Premiership win of the season with a 14-11 success against London Irish at the Memorial Stadium.
Last Updated: 30/09/07 6:33pm
Tom Arscott marked his home debut with a fifth-minute try as Bristol claimed their first Guinness Premiership win of the season with a 14-11 success against London Irish at the Memorial Stadium.
Bristol fly-half David Hill opened the scoring with a simple penalty after the Exiles' were penalised for off-side in the second minute.
The hosts lead was soon extended to 8-0 when full-back Josh Taumalolo entered the line at pace and put Arscott into the corner with a well-timed pass.
Delon Armitage got London Irish on the board with an 11th-minute penalty, but defences largely remained dominant.
Hill re-opened Bristol's eight-point advantage with another penalty, but Armitage responded in kind to reduce the Exiles' deificit at the break to 11-6.
Strong defending
The visitors dominated the early stages of the second-half and almost gained their reward when winger Topsy Ojo was bundled into touch just short of the line.
Taumalolo was fortunate to escape a yellow card on 55 minutes when his high tackle on Exiles' fly-half Shane Geraghty went unpunished.
Hill slotted his third penalty in the 58th minute to extend Bristol's lead to 14-6 heading into the final quarter.
The Exiles' forwards applied pressure in the closing stages, but when they were awarded a couple of penalties they opted to go for the scrum.
And although replacement flanker Steffon Armitage finally touched down in the 67th minute, it was not enough as Bristol hung on for the win courtesy of some solid defending in the final stages.
