By Chloe Evans
A second-half try by Louis Rees-Zammit edged Bristol to a one-point win against the Scarlets in west Wales.
The Wales international wing’s 54th minute score proved decisive at a time when the English side were trailing 16-12.
A try by scrum-half Gareth Davies and 11 points from the boot of fly-half Sam Costelow had put the Scarlets in the driving seat.
But once Rees-Zammit’s try put them in arrears, they couldn’t respond.
Two tries in the first quarter by Bears’ Fijian No.8 Viliame Mata gave the visitors some early breathing space.
Scarlets were further stymied by the 11th minute chalking off of a Tom Rogers try because of an illegal hand to Mata’s face in the build up by lock Sam Lousi.
But in the 28th minute it was Mata who saw yellow for a foul on Scarlets centre Johnny Williams – and the hosts took advantage.
By the 36th minute the hosts had reduced the deficit to 12-10 courtesy of Davies’ try, Costelow’s conversion and an earlier penalty by the No.10.
Six minutes into the second half, Bristol had a try by wing Kalaveti Ravouvou chalked off by the TMO for a forward pass.
Two Costello penalties nudged Scarlets into a 16-12 lead in the 52nd minute, but it proved to be short-lived.
Two minutes later Rees-Zammit had the simple task of touching down after sustained Bristol pressure – and it was ultimately the final scoring intervention.
Scarlets will seek to get their European campaign back on course away to Bordeaux on Saturday, while the Bears host Pau the following day.