Bristol Bears ran in six tries to claim a 40-15 bonus-point victory in the Premiership Rugby Cup over Championship side Ampthill.
After conceding an early penalty which Ampthill fly-half Josh Barton sent through the posts, a youthful Bears clicked into gear and scored five unanswered tries in the first half.
Scores from centre Harry Rowson, hooker Will Capon, captain Yann Thomas, scrum-half Oscar Lennon and a penalty try meant the Bears raced in to a 33-3 lead at half-time.
The visitors’ defence tightened in the second half and they reduced the arrears in the 59th minute when Kerr Johnston dived over in the corner moments after Bears number eight Benjamin Grondona was sent to the sin-bin.
It took until the 71st minute for substitute Aidan Boshoff to score Bristol’s first points of the second half when he collected a looping pass to dive over in the corner.
Ampthill grabbed a consolation try with the final play of the match when they drove over the line following a clever set-piece.
Their second win in three matches means the Bears stay second in Pool D behind Bath, while winless Ampthill remain rooted to the foot of the table.
