Southern Conference Champions Bath Cardinals had the shock of their lives at West Country rivals Bristol as they failed to produce anywhere near the form of last year. The home side found themselves behind in the very early stages as they were forced to punt on their first possession. With the ball on their own forty-three yard line, and their first offensive play of the game, the Cardinals sped into the lead through Peter Rigby on a fifty-seven yard reverse. The trusty boot of Chris Hunt added the extra two as the Aztecs found themselves on the wrong end of an 8 - 0 score line. Both sides exchanged turnovers as the first quarter developed into an enthralling game of field position with the Aztecs just shading it. Marching down field behind a punishing running game the Bristol side were virtually camped within the Cardinals ten, thanks to a couple of careless penalties that kept the drive alive. Joey Dawson crashed over the line from the two to bring the Aztecs within touching distance and Lewis Nixon added the extra two to tie the scores.

The second quarter followed much the same pattern as the first with some great defensive stands from both sides. Bath looked sure to regain their lead late in the second only to fumble the ball into the end zone allowing the home side to regain it and save the day. The teams headed to the locker room all square in a tense but entertaining game.

The Aztecs looked to have taken the game by the scruff of the neck from the second half kick off as they took the ball back some seventy yards through some woeful Cardinal tackling. Fortunately for the Bath side the play was called back for holding. Neither side looked like scoring throughout either the third quarter or the fourth. Strong, blustery winds made a passing game virtually impossible and a succession of flags meant the game had little momentum.

With a fraction over two minutes it looked as if the Aztecs may well have been forced out of field goal distance with a crunching sack on their quarterback. However, with the wind at his back, Chris Hunt stepped up and nailed the vital score from over thirty yards away with ease.

The Cardinals maintain their unbeaten run this season but take on the Aztecs next week in the return fixture. It looks very much as if they will meet each other once more in the playoffs to decide who will represent the Southern Conference in this year's BYAFA Bowl.