Bristol edge Scarlets 17-16 after tough fight

Scarlets 16-17 Bristol Bears, Parc y Scarlets

Bristol Bears kicked off their Investec Champions Cup campaign with a narrow 17–16 win away against Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets.

The visitors dug in deep, overcoming pressure and a tense atmosphere to claim all five points.

The Bears struck early when their Fijian number eight Bill Mata powered over inside three minutes.

On 19 minutes, Mata doubled his tally after a brilliant offload from Kalaveti Ravouvou put him through to score the second try for Bristol. That gave the Bears a solid 12-0 lead.

Scarlets responded before halftime. Fly-half Sam Costelow slotted a penalty, then with Mata in the sin-bin for a high tackle, the hosts exploited the extra man — scrum-half Gareth Davies dived over for a try. That left the half-time score close at 12-10.

The second half was tightly contested. Scarlets edged ahead with two more Costelow penalties, turning the game to 16-12 in their favour.

But Bristol stayed composed: their winger Louis Rees-Zammit finished in the corner to restore a 17-16 lead. In a tense final quarter, Scarlets pushed hard — but Bristol’s defence held firm and they closed out a hard-earned away victory.

Team line up:

Scarlets: J Davies; Rogers, James, J Williams, Mee; Costelow, G Davies; Mathias, Elias, Holz, Lousi, Ball, Douglas, Macleod (capt), Anderson.

Reserves: Van der Merwe, S O'Connor, H Thomas, Taylor, Davis, Blacker, Hawkins, J Roberts.

Bristol: Jordan; Rees-Zammit, Van Rensburg, J Williams, Ravouvou; Sam Worsley, Marmion; Ellis Genge, Oghre, Lahiff, Rubiolo, Batley, Grondona, Harding (capt), Mata.

Reserves: Thacker, Woolmore, Chawatama, Owen, Grondona, Wolstenholme, Boshoff, Carrington.