The Llanelli Scarlets found themselves on the wrong end of an 18-11 scoreline after their match with Bristol in the EDF Energy Cup.
The home side scored first half tries from Lee Robinson and Andrew Blowers to give them a 15-3 lead at the interval.
David Hill added a penalty and a conversion for Bristol to complete the first half scoring and establish a lead the Scarlets were unable to claw back.
Morgan Stoddart crossed in second half injury time and that score could prove crucial at the end of the Pool stages as it earned Phil Davies’s team a losing bonus point.
It was the Scarlets who got the first points of the afternoon, with young outside half Rhys Priestland sending over a penalty after Bristol had been caught offside. But just a few minutes later his opposite number Hill cancelled that out to get the home side on the board. Then came the two key scores for Bristol to build their unassailable lead.
Scarlets Director of Rugby Davies was an unhappy man after the event saying, “We were awful today. We didn’t provide a platform in any aspect of the game.
“There are a lot of disappointed guys in the dressing room and we need to dust ourselves off and be better next week. I don’t think we played smart rugby and should have chipped away at the scoreboard with all the penalties we had.”
