Bristol Bears secured their first home victory of the season with a hard-fought bonus-point win over a revamped Northampton side, finishing with a score of 31-23.
Northampton’s early efforts were led by George Hendy and Josh Kemeny, who helped their team to a 15-0 advantage within the first 20 minutes. However, Bristol responded quickly with two tries from Kalaveti Ravouvou and Gabriel Ibitoye, narrowing the deficit.
Ravouvou added his second try during his first start of the season, giving Bristol a slight edge. Joe Batley then scored the Bears’ fourth try with just ten minutes remaining, putting the match out of reach for the visiting Saints. Although James Ramm crossed for a late try with only a minute left, it was not enough to prevent Northampton from suffering their sixth straight defeat in the Premiership away from home.
This victory marks Bristol’s fourth consecutive win against Northampton, allowing them to establish a 10-point lead over the Saints at the top of the standings as the weekend’s fixtures continue. Despite missing several international players due to changes made by head coach Phil Dowson, Northampton managed to capitalize on Bristol’s mistakes in the first half.
Debutant George Makepeace-Cubitt opened the scoring for Northampton with a penalty, before they quickly extended their lead with two tries in quick succession. The first was by Hendy, who received a pass from Tom Pearson and cut inside to score. Shortly after, Kemeny finished off a two-on-one situation to increase the Saints’ advantage.
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