Bristol stun Harlequins with 20-13 victory at Ashton Gate

Bristol Bears 20-13 Harlequins, Ashton Gate
Scorecard

Bristol Rugby secured their second home game of the season as they went on to beat Harlequins 20-13 in their Gallagher Premiership encounter at Ashton Gate on Saturday.

The win has taken Bristol to the seventh place in the table with eight points while Harlequins are at sixth place with nine points.

Harlequins dominated the early part of the game when Danny Care crossed over in the eighth minute and James Lang followed it with a conversion and a penalty kick to give them 10 points.

Just before the end of the first quarter, Ian Madigan got the home side off the mark with a penalty goal but the visitors went on to lose a bit of momentum when Ben Tapuai was sin-binned in the 22nd minute when he failed to release on the ground.

Bristol failed to capitalise on the numerical advantage but they did seize the momentum at the end of the first half when Piers O'Connor touched down in the 36th minute. Madigan missed out on the conversion but kicked another penalty goal as the teams went into the break with a 11-10 scoreline.

Harlequins continued their infringement and this time Joe Marler was yellow-carded in the 49th minute for making contact with Andy Uren's head and this time Madigan kicked three penalty goals as compared to his opposite number Lang's one three-pointer as Bristol had clear advantage with a 20-13 lead heading into the final quarter.

The visitors could not provide a late flourish instead they had their third sin bin in the 79th minute when Paul Lasike was punished for a no-arm hit on an opponent as Bristol sealed a 20-13 victory - their second at home.