Bristol are crushed by relentless pack

Bristol 12 Leeds 17

Leeds were all grit and gumption yesterday, grinding out a victory over a dreadfully limited Bristol, which takes them back to third in the table, and ended Bristol's four-month unbeaten home run in the Premiership.

If you need a side to make the best of a war of attrition, in appalling conditions, look no further than Leeds who may be the surprise of the season but are no longer underrated by anyone.

Phil Davies, the Leeds director of rugby, acclaimed his side's third away win of the season by saying: "There is a terrific work ethic in this team." But Bristol's head coach, Peter Thorburn, was less than pleased. "If you can't score points with the ball you don't deserve to win," was the laconic New Zealander's verdict.

If Bristol had any attacking ideas, they were incapable of executing them. The Shoguns won plenty of possession, but their passing was lamentably inaccurate. Leeds, on the other hand, came close to perfection in the second half, with Gordon Ross drilling the ball into the corners, frustrating Bristol's attempts to break out where they could make the most of Phil Christopher's elusiveness and the pace of David Rees.

A blustery cross-field wind threatened to make life difficult for the kickers; and it did. Felipe Contepomi did score with his second penalty, though before then, the Leeds forwards had revealed their mettle.

On their second visit to Bristol territory, Leeds forced a series of five-metre scrums. At the first three, Leeds pushed Bristol back, though not quite far enough. The fourth brought a penalty as Bristol lowered the scrum. At the fifth, when they repeated their law-breaking, the referee Steve Lander had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try.

Contepomi reduced the deficit to a point with a beautifully-judged penalty, before Isaac Feaunati evaded Jamie Williams to score in the corner, which Braam van Straaten converted to take Leeds 14-6 in front. Although Contepomi pulled back three points Leeds were determined not to let this one go.

In the second half, when the quality of the rugby, was a perfect match for the worsening weather, Contepomi's fourth penalty was matched by a neat dropped goal by Ross.

Bristol: Penalties Contepomi 4. Leeds: Tries penalty try, Feaunati; Conversions Van Straaten 2; Drop Goal Ross.

Bristol: J Williams (S Drahm, 70); D Rees, A Higgins, D Gibson (capt; M Shaw, 47-54), P Christophers; F Contepomi, A Pichot; A Sheridan, P Johnstone, J White (D Crompton, 32), S Morgan, A Brown, M Salter, R Oakley (M Lipman, 77), R Beattie.

Leeds: D Scarbrough; W Stanley (G Harder, h-t), T Davies, B van Straaten, D Albanese; G Ross, A Dickens (S Benton, h-t); M Shelley (capt), M Regan, G Kerr, C Murphy, T Palmer, C Mather, D Hyde (A Popham, h-t), I Feaunati.

Referee: S Lander (Warrington).