Bristol complete Bayonne job

Easy win at Memorial Ground has Premiership leaders in pole position

Bristol put one foot into the European Challenge Cup quarter-finals with a predictable mauling of Bayonne at the Memorial Stadium on Friday night.

With two pool matches left, the 48-6 win over the French minnows leaves Richard Hill's team in the box seat for a home match in the play-offs.

They face a tricky game at the Newport Gwent Dragons in early January, but are virtually certain to pick up five points at home to Bucuresti in the final-round match.

Craig Morgan, Lee Robinson and back-rower Joe El Abd ran in tries in an entertaining opening half-hour, and England scrum-half Shaun Perry bagged the bonus-point try to give the home side a 24-3 lead at the break that was never going to be overtaken.

Perry scored his second shortly after the break, and Robinson went over twice in quick succession to complete his hat-trick and leave Bristol on 19 out of a possible 20 points in the opening four rounds of the tournament.

In France, Montpellier beat Connacht 35-22 in a battle of the also-rans in Pool Four. Neither side have a chance of making the quarter-finals, but the French club do not like losing at home and they kept the Irishmen at bay - despite losing outside-half Francois Trinh Duc to a red card that cost him a two-week suspension.

Georgia's international flanker Mamuka Gorgodze scored a brace of tries for the home side, but it was the boot of Regis Lespinas (20 points) that proved the difference on the night.

Connacht's Daniel Riordan bagged a brace of his own, and his side outscored the Frenchmen four tries to three, but they now have two games to avoid bottom place in the pool.