Bristol survive scare but Newcastle off the mark in Prem as Spencer seals bonus

In the end Bristol had too much. A display of equal parts grit and skill by Newcastle threatened a huge festive upset in the freezing-cold south-west, but two tries by the elusive Louis Rees-Zammit and some classically fluent attacking by Pat Lam’s buoyant team eventually enabled them to overpower their spirited visitors.

After the Bears ruined Harlequins’ Christmas at Twickenham last Saturday, sticking 40 points on the London club in Big Game 17, they were widely expected to ease to victory against the Prem’s bottom side, who were yet to muster a bonus point after seven matches. The question seemed to be not if Bristol would win, rather by how many.

But the work Newcastle are doing under the head coach, Alan Dickens, now assisted by the former Wales international Stephen Jones, is beginning to bear fruit. They are on the board with an attacking bonus point for scoring four well-worked tries, including a double for the dangerous Oli Spencer. Bristol eventually scored six in response but were made to work much harder than last week at Twickenham.

Newcastle were impressive in every facet of the game, particularly in the first half, with Murray McCallum crashing over to open the scoring on seven minutes. Spencer’s sensational diving score in the corner, evading the attention of Kalaveti Ravouvou, made it 10-0 and an industrious start by Dickens’ side dampened the home fans’ festive spirits.

After talk about excessive kicking it was pleasing to see Rees-Zammit, the Bears full-back, frequently sprinting from deep with ball in hand like a world-class NFL running back. “I think full-back is his best position,” Lam said of Rees-Zammit. “You’ve got to be a great communicator, good under the high ball, you need pace – it suits our style completely for him to be at full-back. After his time in the NFL, he’s more powerful and I believe he has the ability to be a world-class full-back.”

Bristol – suddenly but briefly – began to hit the right notes in attack. Rees-Zammit ran through a yawning gap in Newcastle’s defence after 20 minutes, scoring Bristol’s first try, and then fed Matías Moroni, who arrowed over the line, before Tom Jordan’s conversion took Lam’s side into the lead.

No one would had expected the Red Bulls to lead at half-time but Ollie Leatherbarrow’s muscular score after a fine strike move involving Elliott Obatoyinbo got them over the gain-line in the opposition 22, and it turned out to be a five-point lead at the break.

Oli Spencer (right), whose second try guaranteed Newcastle a first point of the season, is challenged by Bristol’s Harry Randall. Photograph: Michael Steele/Getty Images

Brett Connon added a penalty for Newcastle soon after half-time, stretching the lead to eight, but Bristol soon tore down the right wing, offloading as they went, and Noah Heward finished off a slick score to reduce the deficit to three.

Newcastle had faded badly in the round-seven defeat by Bath but if Bristol hoped the same would happen here they were disappointed. Sammy Arnold burst through the defensive line with a driving midfield run in midfield and they had the numbers on the left for Spencer to score his second try.

No sooner had Newcastle created a 10-point cushion than Ellis Genge – player of the match from the bench – was haring into their 22, creating field position for Ravouvou to cross on the left. The conversion was missed but it barely mattered: Rees-Zammit cut inside after a fizzing pass by Moroni, leaving Newcastle defenders for dead, and when Gabriel Oghre was shoved over and James Williams converted, it was a nine-point lead for Bristol.

The Bears’ lock Joe Batley was sent off with 14 minutes left for a brutal ruck clear-out and Ravouvou was sent to the sin-bin inside the final five minutes for a deliberate knock-on. Newcastle made it a nervous finish. A knock-on by Cameron Hutchison ended up costing them a fifth try and a losing bonus point – and even a late crack at victory. Two points would have been nice but even five would have been deserved.

“If that try had stood, we wanted to go for the win,” Dickens said. “It’s a place we like to come. The way Bristol play opens it all up, and I thought there were a lot of positives from our team today.”