Youthful Saints show real spirit but Bristol Bears take the spoils at Ashton Gate

It was a far better showing than on the two previous Premiership trips to Bristol, with Saints having shipped a half-century of points on both of those occasions.

However, the black, green and gold, depleted by a laundry list of absentees, were unable to make their strong start to the game count as they saw their 15-0 lead disintegrate.

Saints were still ahead by a point at the break thanks to tries from George Hendy and Josh Kemeny, both provided by the hugely determined Tom Pearson, but the second half was far tougher.

Saints barely had any real attacking possession after the interval and they were forced to do plenty of defending, with the pressure eventually paying off for Bristol.

Kalaveti Ravouvou ended the night with two tries as he impressed from centre, while the Bears rounded things off with a trademark team try.

Saints did score a stunning try a minute before the end as Rory Hutchinson's magical break and long pass opened the door for James Ramm to score out wide.

But 20-year-old fly-half George Makepeace-Cubitt, making his Saints debut in the absence of Fin Smith and George Furbank, saw his conversion attempt come back off the right post.

That stopped Saints taking the losing bonus point that their defensive efforts on the night had deserved.

Phil Dowson's men had to go to Bristol without their England stars, who had spent the week at a Red Rose training camp in Girona.

But Saints had the first chance to really threaten at Ashton Gate as they won a penalty in the home half.

However, Tom James' decision to take a quick tap didn't pay off as Bristol got over the ball and won the penalty.

The Bears were soon on the attack at the other end, kicking a penalty to the corner, but Temo Mayanavanua did well to pinch the ball back and Saints cleared.

The away side were struggling to get any momentum with ball in hand but when Bristol were penalised deep in their own half, Makepeace-Cubitt slotted the penalty to register his first points for Saints and give them the lead.

It had been a largely quiet opening 15 minutes, with the flat atmosphere inside Ashton Gate reflecting that.

But Saints were forced into some last-ditch defending when Steven Luatua went for the line in the corner, only to find himself held up.

And it didn't take long for the black, green and gold to land a sucker punch as they worked their way upfield superbly before Hendy produced a superb finish, cutting in from the right to score.

Makepeace-Cubitt added the extras to give his side a 10-0 lead.

And Saints really had the bit between their teeth when Pearson turned on the power before drawing his man to set up Kemeny for a second black, green and gold score.

Makepeace-Cubitt couldn't add the extras on this occasion as he sent a tough kick from out wide left of the posts.

Bristol had found little momentum for half an hour, but they struck when Gabriel Ibitoye found himself in space to score out wide.

AJ MacGinty slotted the conversion superbly and the gap was now eight points as the home fans found their voices.

The Bears scored for the second time in as many minutes when they cut Saints apart with a sweeping move that saw Ravouvou gallop into the open space to dive over.

MacGinty cut the Saints lead to a single point with the simple conversion, and the away side were suddenly all at sea.

But Saints managed to steady the ship before the break and they thought they had scored when Curtis Langdon went over under the posts, only to be deemed to have been held up.

Saints kept pushing and did add three points to their tally with the final kick of the half as Makepeace-Cubitt held his nerve to slot a penalty, making it 18-14 to Saints at the break.

The first five minutes of the second period were largely huff and puff, but Bristol started to gain control as they piled the pressure on the Saints line.

Saints held out well but they were undone when Luatua gained huge amounts of ground on the right and the ball was eventually worked to Ravouvou to score in acrobatic fashion.

There had looked to be a neck roll on Henry Pollock in the build-up but nothing was given and MacGinty converted to give the Bears a 21-18 lead.

Saints were under huge pressure, having to defend time and again, and eventually the Bears were handed a penalty, which MacGinty kicked.

Bristol then pieced together a trademark score, finished off by lock Joe Batley, though there did appear to have been a knock on early in the build-up.

MacGinty added the conversion to make it 31-18 as Saints stared down the barrel of another Bristol defeat.

The away side continued to give their all in defence, determined not to be on the end of another Bristol battering.

And when Hutchinson produced a moment of magic, leading a break before flinging a fantastic long pass out to Ramm, there was a chance to pick up a losing bonus point.

However, it was a really tough touchline kick for Makepeace-Cubitt and though he struck it well, it came back off the right post to deny Saints the point their efforts had merited.

Bristol Bears: Lane; Bates, Ravouvou (Worsley 77), van Rensburg (Elizalde 18), Ibitoye; MacGinty, Marmion (Wolstenholme 68); Woolmore (Thomas 49), Oghre (Thacker 50), Lahiff (Kloska 50), Dun, Batley; Luatua, B Grondonna (Heenan 77), Harding (c).

Saints: Hendy; Ramm, Litchfield (Savala 72), Hutchinson, Seabrook (Garside 71); Makepeace-Cubitt, James (McParland 72); West (Iyogun 57), C Langdon (Wright 64), Millar Mills (Green 57); Mayanavanua, Coles (c) (Thornbury 68); Kemeny, Pearson, Pollock (Scott-Young 72).

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys