Bristol hold off La Rochelle in 3-13 win

La Rochelle 3-13 Bristol Bears, Stade Marcel Deflandre
Scorecard

Bristol Bears kept their European Rugby Challenge Cup quarter-finals hopes alive as they went on to defeat La Rochelle at Stade Marcel Deflandre on Saturday.

The win has taken Bristol to 11 points as they consolidated their third position in Pool 4 while La Rochelle continue to top the table as they lost their first game in the competition.

La Rochelle started the game with a bit of setback when Ryan Lamb was sin-binned in the 15th minute following which Callum Sheedy kicked two penalty goals on either side of a three-pointer fullback Arthur Retiere as the teams went into the break with a 3-6 scoreline.

The visitors found early success after the break when a kick from Tawera Kerr-Barlow was charged down by Nick Haining, who sent Jordan Crane over the line and Sheedy improved it as they stretched their lead to 10 points.

As La Rochelle applied more pressure, Bristol stepped up their defence despite they were reduced to 14-men in the last five minutes with a sin-bin to Jake Woolmore to complete a 3-13 victory.