Bristol staged a remarkable first half to secure their place in the knockout stages of the Investec Champions Cup with a 61-49 win over the Bulls in Group Four in Pretoria.
Hosts South Africa fielded 10 Springboks in their opening KSV hoping to record their first win of the group campaign, but were still outclassed at Loftus Versfeld.
Bristol started like a freight train, running in three tries in the first 10 minutes and seven in total to build a 47-28 interval lead.
Wing Noah Heward crossed twice and there were also touchdowns for Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Max Lahiff, Kalaveti Ravuvu and Kieran Marmion.
The Bulls put up more resistance in the second half but Bristol continued to shoot and Hayward completed his hat-trick, Pedro Rubiolo broke through and Ravuvu ran in the second half.
A third win in as many outings in the competition lifts the Bears to the top of Group Four above arch-rivals Northampton and Bordeaux, who clash at the Stade Chaban-Delmas on Sunday.
Book sale last 16 spot in comfortable Sharks win
A dominant second-half performance earned Sale a 26-10 win over South Africa’s Sharks in Group One and a place in the final.
The visitors went through through a Siia Masuku penalty, but Sale led 7-3 at half-time thanks to Rekeiti Ma’asi-White’s try.
Ten minutes into the second half Bevan Rodd appeared on the back of the maul to score.
Five minutes later George Ford and Obi Ene combined for Tom O’Flaherty in the corner.
The Sharks responded when Manu Shituka raced past Ford to score and Masuku’s conversion put them within nine points.
But Sale went straight back at the other end with O’Flaherty getting the bonus point and Ford adding his third conversion.
Byrne’s last-ditch penalty earned Leinster a thrilling victory over La Rochelle
Harry Byrne had the guts to lift Leinster to a last-gasp 25-24 victory over La Rochelle at the Aviva Stadium.
La Rochelle looked set to walk away from Dublin with the spoils in a see-saw battle after Ihaia West brought the ball down late on, but Byrne’s 83rd-minute half-penalty substitute sealed a third win in three Group Three matches for Leinster.
Joshua Kenny crossed twice as Leinster raced into a 12-0 lead inside 10 minutes, but either side of Nolan Le Garec’s penalty, Davit Niniashvili and West converted tries to put La Rochelle 17-12 ahead.
Leinster looked to have regained the lead when Josh van der Flier leveled proceedings before Robbie Henshaw departed soon after.
West’s second score was followed by Le Garrec putting La Rochelle back in front with his third conversion with three minutes remaining, but Leinster earned a late penalty and Byrne’s clever shot from a few meters from the right touchline successfully split the post.
Leinster are now guaranteed a place in the last 16 ahead of their final group game in Bayonne next weekend.
Glasgow down Clermont to book a knockout spot
Glasgow Warriors are also guaranteed a place in the last 16 of the Champions Cup after claiming a third bonus point on the spin by beating Clermont Auvergne 33-21.
After beating Sale in their Pool One opener and then storming back 21-0 to stun six-time champions Toulouse last month, the Warriors took control at the Parc des Sports Marseille Michelin.
First-half tries from Euan Ferry, Hugh Jones, Kyle Steyn and Jack Dempsey, three converted by George Horne, helped the visitors to a 26-7 lead at the break, with George Moala scoring for Clermont.
But Patrick Schickerling was booked for offside and Horne joined him in the sin-bin for a deliberate knock, with Claremont awarded a penalty and Glasgow down to 13 men.
Clermont took a two-man advantage when Irae Simone struck to reduce the deficit to five points just after the hour mark, but Steyn’s second try secured victory in Glasgow.
Having secured a place in the knockout stages, Glasgow could claim top spot in their group by beating Saracens at Scotstoun next weekend.
The Scarlets are still looking for their first win after the Pau defeat
The Scarlets missed out on a first win in Group Four after losing 47-38 to Pau.
The Welsh took the lead through a Joe Hawkins penalty but conceded Toshi Butlin’s first try two minutes later.
After 10 minutes Butlin had his second from a long pass from Akel Desperes and shortly after Clement Mondinat went over for try number three.
Home captain Josh McLeod scored twice either side of ex-Scarlet Karvin Tuipulotou’s puck-in and from 26-10 down the Scarlets were only two points behind at half-time with an Archie Hughes try.
They went ahead moments after the restart when Thane Plumtree broke through and Hawkins extended the lead to 12.
But Pau hit back through Remy Seneca, Theo Atisogbe and Siate Tokolahi to secure victory.