REES-ZAMMIT SCORES TWICE AS BRISTOL BEAT NORTHAMPTON 41-26

Louis Rees-Zammit scored two tries as Bristol beat Premiership champions Northampton 41-26 at Ashton Gate, according to the Guardian. The Wales winger also earned Bristol's late penalty try and marked the win with a celebration based on Henry Pollock's "pulse" gesture. Rees-Zammit said he and Pollock are close and that the celebration was a response to a forfeit the pair had discussed. Bristol scored six tries in total, with Gabriel Oghre, Tom Jordan and Harry Randall also crossing the line. The result means Bristol have won their opening two games of the season for the first time since 2023, the report said.

The match also saw a head injury to Bristol centre Benhard van Rensburg, who received lengthy treatment on the pitch and was taken off on a stretcher shortly before half-time, appearing to have been knocked unconscious. The South African-born player suffered a similar injury during England's summer victory over Argentina, according to the report. He was later seen in the Bristol dugout during the second half, which the report said eased concerns that the injury was serious. Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam said he had watched Bristol's 94-point defeat to Northampton from May five times during the off-season and built pre-season training around that result. Northampton struggled for much of the match, with dropped balls, missed chances, disallowed tries and lineout problems in the first hour, the report said.

Lam said the defensive improvement shown against Northampton reflected the work done since last season's heavy defeat. The report did not state Bristol's next fixture or confirm further details of Van Rensburg's condition. Sky Sports corroborated the final score and described the result as an early-season statement win for Bristol.