Seven-try Northampton beat Bristol 51-24 in Premiership Rugby Cup

Northampton Saints 51-24 Bristol Rugby

Northampton Saints ran a seven-try riot as they went on to Bristol Rugby 51-24 in their Premiership Rugby Cup encounter at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday.

The win meant Northampton Saints end the opening round at the top of Pool 3 with Bristol at third place after managing a bonus point.

The Saints got off to a terrific start with James Grayson and Francois van Wyk scoring tries in the first 10 minutes but the fly-half missed out on the conversions on both the occasions as the home side claimed a 10-0 lead.

The visitors responded back with a try from Tom Farara-Lindsay in the 17th minute but it was a total domination from the hosts in the second quarter which saw van Wyk crossover for the second time in the game in the 29th minute and Alex Mitchell followed the suit just before the break.

Grayson did manage a couple each of conversions and penalties as Northampton headed into the break with a 30-5 lead.

Further tries from Reece Marshall (49'), George Furbank (59') and Andrew Kellaway (69') took Northampton's tally past the 50-point mark but there was some consolation for the visitors as they came up with an improved second half performance as tries from Jordan Crane (55'), Tom Pincus (72') and Jack Lam (79') saw them claim a bonus point.