In the wet conditions occasional handling mistakes by both sides were inevitable, and a knock-on by Bristol's full-back Luke Arscott, as a monstrous kick out of hand by an industrious Havili looked to be going 'dead', enabled the Pirates to keep pressure on their opponents.

Staying positive, a counter attack from Cook saw the ball moved to centre Nick Jackson who ran menacingly down the left. A try looked 'on', but deciding to cut inside he was hauled down deep inside Bristol's '22' and hopes were dashed.

Working their way up field, Bristol had the opportunity to level matters when the Pirates were penalised for an infringement at the breakdown some 25 metres out from the posts. The kick looked a formality, and fly-half Adrian Jarvis, a former 'Quin', made no mistake.

From the restart a reckless high tackle by Bristol's No. 8 Dan Montagu, who has inflicted legal damage against the Pirates when playing for Nottingham in the past, gave a penalty chance for fly-half Rhy Jones to put the Pirates back in front. His strike looked good, but it unfortunately rebounded off a post.

Still, the Pirates must have been pleased with their efforts in the opening quarter of the match when they looked fired up and fully committed, and when Jones duly hit the target when another chance at goal was offered, the lead was justly deserved.

Once again, however, the lead did not last long, and after a spell of applied pressure Jarvis levelled the scores once more.

Bristol now appeared in the ascendancy, it taking some committed tackling by such as Tyrone Holmes to keep them at bay, and with relief then provided when No. 8 Laurie McGlone carried, kicked and chased to safety ahead of the half-time whistle.

Jarvis put Bristol ahead for the first time in the match with a well-struck penalty four minutes into the second half, as one had the impression that Bristol had witnessed what the Pirates had to offer and they were about to apply what would best suit them. Their control at the set piece was a plus, despite the efforts of Ward who was leading the Pirates by example with a man of the match performance that he fully deserved.

Pack control by Bristol set them a position from where the ball was moved slickly left to right for Arscott to take advantage of acquired space to hit the line and cross for a converted try that gave the visitors an ominous looking 16-6 lead.

The wind and rain may have eased, but the Pirates spirits would nonetheless be further dampened, especially when England Sevens man, wing Dan Norton, out-paced the Pirates down the left to score at the corner.

Needing to respond, a midfield run by centre Mark Ireland raised hopes. Taking play to the clubhouse corner further raised morale, only for Holmes to be brought to ground with a typically solid tackle by former Pirates and Exeter centre Alaifatu 'Junior' Fatialofa.

Now was a time to introduce replacements, including for the Pirates young lock Alex Shaw who is on loan from Sale.

When Bristol next took play deep inside the Pirates half, further forward control ended with flanker Redford Pennycook peeling away and making the line for a converted try to put the final outcome beyond any remaining doubt.

A final try of the afternoon for Bristol, which provided them with a bonus point, followed a further spell of set piece domination, especially at the scrummage, it a penalty try that naturally offered Jarvis the simplest of conversions.

The beleaguered Pirates may have been well beaten, but they had never given up, and at the end conjured up a fine try through Ireland and replacement centre Steve Winn, ending with wing Rhodri McAtee gliding his way over at the clubhouse corner for his third try in the last three games. Cook added the difficult conversion.

This week, once again, there were no complaints, as a feeling pervades that when the Pirates get back to something near full strength they'll likely match the best. Time will tell, as ever, but in the meantime nothing more can be asked of individuals than to give their all, and those available have not lacked for effort and are also gaining experience in what is a tough and testing 'Championship'.