The British Champions suffered their first ever league away defeat against local rivals and Championship hopefuls Bristol. With both sides defending an unbeaten start it was Bristol who finally came on top with a 26-8 win.

A crucial fourth down conversion by club captain Karl Adams saw Bath gain the upper hand and two plays later Ben Edgell rushed for five yards to open the scoring. This game saw the return of Bath’s record kicker Chris Hunt who duly spit the uprights to leave Bath 8-0 up and seemly in control.

The second quarter saw both defenses stifle stuttering offenses as the half expired with the away side holding a narrow 8 – 0 advantage.

Early in the third the Aztec defense forced a fumble and a few plays later scored as Nick Proctor blasted in from the two. With Proctor again carrying the ball in for the extra points the West Country rivals were locked at 8 – 8. Ed Collins hauled in a Gareth Thomas twenty-vive yard strike to ease Bristol into a 14 – 8.

Not to be undone the Cardinals fought back in the fourth and had seemingly tied the scores through Chris Taylor only to see it called back for a penalty. A tiring Bath side looked broken and to underline that point Bristol scored a third TD with Thomas sprinting in from fifteen yards out. Will Parkhouse who ran in untouched, from seventy-five yards away for a late score, gathered in an errant pass from the Cardinals’ quarterback William Wagstaffe to round off the scoring.

The result leaves the Southern Conference with three teams still in with a chance of making the playoffs. While the Aztecs are in the driving seat, much as they were last year they still have the return fixture at Bath to contend with. However if the Olympians live up to their current form then this division could still be go anywhere.