In all the team shared nine tries with the Wanderers scoring six. The 46-21 win sees the Northampton second string into the Guinness 'A' League semi-finals at the end of March.

It took half-an-hour for Saturday’s Guinness Premiership encounter between the same clubs to catch fire. But by the end of the first quarter almost as many points had been scored by the second string teams, both featuring a raft of first team squad players no doubt eager to impress in their first action of 2009.

The Wanderers drew first blood, figuratively if not literally (that honour belonged to Bristol number eight James Phillips) in only the seventh minute when centre Nils Mordt crossed by the sticks.

This was followed by a flurry of scoring, Greg Barden crossing for the visitors and Neil Starling for the Wanderers.

With both kickers Barry Everitt and Chris Ashwin on target with their conversion attempts the score at the end of the first quarter was Wanderers 14, Bristol 7, although Ashwin hit the post with an 11th-minute penalty attempt.

The Saints first team had become acquainted with Junior Fatialofa during the 2007/08 National League One campaign.

And the big Samoan introduced the Wanderers to his brand of physicality with a powerful break through the midfield. The hosts turned the ball over to end the threat, and could have been further ahead a couple of minutes later when Chris Ashton was denied a try after being deemed to have been in front of Carlos Spencer’s neat chip to the right corner.

Alex Rae also came close on the half-hour, only to see the ball slip from his grasp in a powerful tackle. Rae was having a powerful afternoon with ball in hand and his charge up the middle helped set up Starling’s second try in the 36th minute.

Everitt succeeded again from the touchline, his kick dropping perfectly over the crossbar, and the full back’s quick thinking and neat handling created the bonus point try as the clock ticked into injury time.

Matt Lord was also involved but appropriately enough it was Everitt who scored and converted the try before adding a penalty to bring the half to a close with the Wanderers leading 31-7.

The third quarter belonged to Bristol. Specifically it belonged to wing Tom Arscott, whose two timely interceptions both ended dangerous Wanderers attacks and took him straight to the line for a pair of tries inside five minutes. Ashwin added two conversions and having been comfortably behind at the break the visitors were now well in the game at 31-21.

Everitt halted the one-way progress of points with a 57th-minute penalty but both teams were guilty of wasting great opportunities. Phillips’s midfield break put the Wanderers on the back foot in their own 22 while Everitt kicked a penalty to the left corner to set up a promising position for the hosts.

But knock ons put paid to both attacks, and a forward pass stopped Ashton’s run to the line with 10 minutes to go.

By this time the Wanderers were also a man up with Josh Brown’s yellow card, but the second row’s absence was not as marked as it could have been in the tight thanks to uncontested scrums. The extra personnel told out wide, however, when Rae and Joe Gray pulled in enough defenders for Ashton to score in the right corner.

The Wanderers’ sixth try was created by two moments of handling skill. Mordt’s juggling in midfield was overshadowed by a superb one-handed pick up off the floor by James Cannon that earned the replacement lock a try in the Shrubbery Corner that was a suitable way to end the scoring.

Teams:

Wanderers – Everitt; Ashton, Mayor, Mordt, Starling; Spencer (Storey 75mins), Dickens (capt)(Brake 68mins); Dreyer (Broster 10mins), Shields (Gray 40mins), Stewart, Lord (Cannon 18-28mins), Rae, Lawes (Cannon 65mins), Lewitt, Hopley (Ingle 48mins).

Bristol – Lilo; Arscott, Barden (Jarvis 40+2mins), Fatialofa (Maggs 63mins), Elliott; Ashwin, Beveridge (capt)(Thomas 63mins); Hogan (Bellamy 60mins), Blaney, Thompson (Hayes 48mins), Attwood, Brown, Jenkins (Barry 48mins), Pennycook, Phillips (Barry 4-6mins, 35-40mins).

Scorers:
Wanderers – Tries: Mordt, Starling (2), Everitt, Ashton, Cannon; Cons: Everitt (5); Pens: Everitt (2).

Bristol – Tries: Barden, Arscott (2); Cons: Ashwin (3).

Yellow card:
Brown (68mins)