European Challenge Cup Pool Four

Cardiff Blues 37 Bristol 21

BRISTOL'S European Challenge Cup campaign ended in another defeat, this time over the Severn Bridge in Wales, as their defence leaked tries galore against Cardiff Blues.

Former Bristol full-back Matthew Morgan was the chief executioner for Bristol as he scored two tries and set up another.

Acting head coach Mark Tainton said he was taking the final tie at Cardiff Arms Park 'seriously' after Bristol were effectively knocked out of the competition last week.

But it looked like Bristol were still on the team bus in the first quarter of the game Bristol threw the ball about but left gaps for Cardiff Blues to exploit. It was all a bit too loose and it meant they gave the Welsh region chances.

And they took them to go 15-0 up before Bristol got a point on the board. Home hooker Kristian Dacey finished off a move on the left inside the Bristol 22 to go over in the corner for Cardiff Blues' opener.

Moments later, as Bristol attacked on the Cardiff ten metre line, flanker Nick Koster threw a silly pass to nobody in particular other than home fly-half Gareth Anscombe who trotted the sixty metres to the posts for an easy try that centre Steve Shingler converted.

The Blues centre kicked a penalty on the half-hour and, with Bristol at sixes and sevens, it looked an easy cruise for the Blues towards a bonus point victory.

However, the last ten minutes of the half saw a superb response. Bristol scrum-half Andy Uren was magnificent in taking an opportuity to kick over the home defence just inside their half and dash towards the line.

As he was about to be caught, he neatly passed the ball inside to waiting wing Jordan Williams to go over.

Williams was then the provider as he latched onto a loose ball again on the home ten metre line and kicked the ball on. Grabbing the ball on the 22, Williams looked inside and gave it to waiting Jack Tovey to romp over.

Fly-half Adrian Jarvis converted both tries and suddenly Bristol, from looking down and out, were right back in it at 15-14 when the half-time whistle was blown.

But the Blues went out to six points ahead just moments into the second period when Anscombe worked down the right to evade the Bristol cover and set-up ex-Bristol full-back Matthew Morgan for a corner, unconverted try.

The ding-dong battle swung back to Bristol when a pass from home centre Rey Lee-Lo was intercepted by Williams for his second of the match.

Jarvis' conversion put Bristol a point in front but it lasted only three minutes when a Shingler penalty made it 24-21.

And the Blues took a big lead ten minutes from the end when Morgan showed excellent pace to run through the visiting midfield and score under the posts.

It did not help either that Bristol's replacement hooker Max Crumpton received a yellow card for a technical offence with ten minutes left.

The Blues found their pace again and Morgan once more was the difference as he burst through the weak tackling midfield to set up former Wales captain Sam Warburton near the posts.

And that was that for the visitors as they look to an Anglo-Welsh Cup meeting back over the Bridge next weekend at Ospreys.