Following Bristol Bears’ 31-23 win over Northampton Saints at Ashton Gate, here are our five key takeaways from an enthralling Premiership clash.

The top line

It’s never boring at Ashton Gate, and tonight was no exception.

The sides exchanged seven tries in a seriously entertaining fixture, but it was Bristol who came out on top with a bonus point win.

It started poorly for the hosts, as Northampton raced into the lead with two tries from George Hendy and Josh Kemeny, as well as a George Makepeace-Cubitt penalty.

The Bears came back into it with a try from man of the moment Gabriel Ibitoye, and that was soon followed by an effort from Kalaveti Ravouvou.

On the stroke of half-time, Northampton regained the lead with another Makepeace-Cubitt three-pointer.

It was all one-way traffic in the second 40 though. Two tries from Ravouvou and Joe Batley, alongside an AJ MacGinty penalty took the game away from the Saints. The visitors did have one final hurrah, as James Ramm crossed in the final minute.

The win for Bristol now takes them to the top of the Premiership table with four wins from their opening six games, but Northampton will head into the international break outside of the top four.

Attacks on top

I said it would be a scoreathon, and it proved to be just that as attacks took centre stage at Ashton Gate. It was a real end-to-end contest, as you would expect between these two, but they adopted different styles to move forward.

Northampton have earned high plaudits for their crisp, fluid attack in recent seasons, and they were up to their old tricks in the West Country. Their opening two tries were beautifully executed attacks, and in classic Saints style, they looked to target space.

On the flip side, Bristol have returned to the ‘no-fear’ attacking style that brought them so much success in the past, and this worked well again tonight. They utilised their flicks and tricks to unpick the tight Saints defence and scored some delicious tries as a result.

These box office flourishes are so fun to watch – from a neutral point of view – and long may it continue.

We need to talk about Henry Pollock

How good was the Saints youngster tonight?!? The step-up from U20s to full senior level is a big one, but Pollock seems to have taken to it like a duck to water.

He seems incredibly comfortable at number eight, and his abrasive nature is helping him make an impression. Pollock was more than willing to get his hands on the ball, and made a whopping 17 carries over his impressive shift.

It wasn’t just in attack where he shone, as he fronted up in defence too. Pollock notched 19 tackles and chipped in with some clever turnovers too. Importantly, he packed a serious punch in the contact area, which is so important for a player of his age.

His freakish performance tonight caps off a very good start to the season, his first proper year in the first team, but he just looks so comfortable at this level. He will surely be capturing the attention of Steve Borthwick and Conor O’Shea ahead of the England A clash with the Australia XV next month.

Bristol Bears, Premiership champions?

It’s very early in the season, granted, but Bristol look the real deal at the moment don’t they? They got off to a pretty slow start tonight, but when they put their foot down they were utterly fantastic. Bristol play with a sense of freedom that other teams just don’t have, but importantly they stick at it for the full 80 minutes, which gets them over the line.

England enhanced EPS contracts winners and losers: ‘Ultimate Test player’ rewarded but key starters overlooked

Northampton put up a serious fight, especially at the goal-line, but Bristol just made it look so easy to run away with the win. Their ‘no-fear’ attack which I mentioned earlier is so fun to watch, but it has this weird ability to let them pile points on for fun. All but five of the points in the second-half came from the Bears as they imposed themselves on Northampton.

It’s, at times, outrageous rugby, but they are able to maintain it for the full game and it’s helping them to become serious title contenders.

England watch

As always, there were plenty of English stars on display at Ashton Gate, and their performances would certainly have pleased Steve Borthwick.

Gabriel Ibitoye continues to bask in his glorious form, as he was once again sensational for Bristol. He notched a lovely try in the first-half and just looked incredibly dangerous going forward. His offloading game was also vital in getting their attack going.

Axed back-rower Tom Pearson was immense despite the defeat. He worked tirelessly for his side on both sides of the ball and notched two impressive assists in the early stages. His work in defence also deserves a nod, as he pulled off some mega tackles.

Fullback George Hendy also gave a good account of himself with ball-in-hand and looked a consistent threat in broken play.