Worryingly from Bristol's perspective, the visitors could afford to handle it badly.Bristol: Penalties Contepomi 4 Wasps: Tries Lewsey, Worsley. Beardshaw; Conversions Logan 3; Penalty Logan.Bristol: L Best; D Rees, E Simone, J Mayer, S Brown; F Contepomi, A Pichot (capt); P Johnstone (K Fullman 51), N McCarthy (B Williams 66), D Crompton, G Archer, A Brown (A Sheridan 66), C Short, A Vander, M Salter (S Morgan 43).Wasps: J Lewsey; P Sampson, M Denney, R Henderson (F Waters 73), K Logan; A King, M Wood; D Molloy, T Leota (P Greening 62), W Green, J Beardshaw (A Reed 61), R Birkett, J Worsley, P Volley, L Dallaglio (capt).Referee: J Barnard (Yorkshire).. Malcolm Pearce, the self-confessed "rugby nut" who has spent £5in transforming Bristol from a team of bankrupts into a mid-table Premiership outfit with something resembling a future, wreaked fresh havoc on the English game yesterday by threatening to pull out of next weekend's match at Saracens. Pearce launched a double-barrelled verbal assault on the Rugby Football Union - "I have no respect for the bastards," he said during his tirade - and said he was determined to draw the wrangling between the union and its professional clubs to an immediate conclusion. Malcolm Pearce, the self-confessed "rugby nut" who has spent £5in transforming Bristol from a team of bankrupts into a mid-table Premiership outfit with something resembling a future, wreaked fresh havoc on the English game yesterday by threatening to pull out of next weekend's match at Saracens. Pearce launched a double-barrelled verbal assault on the Rugby Football Union - "I have no respect for the bastards," he said during his tirade - and said he was determined to draw the wrangling between the union and its professional clubs to an immediate conclusion. "I will phone Nigel Wray (the Saracens owner) tomorrow and tell him he can have the five points," said Pearce "I'm quite serious. I'm sure I'm contracted to fulfil the fixture, but I'm not contracted to lose money at the rate I'm losing it at the moment.

Why should I carry on? I'm in no better position now than I was two years ago It's a crazy situation, a bloody nonsense. You'd have to be a masochist to want a part of this at the moment."At the moment, the RFU don't want to address the situation: I want to bring them to the table by forcing the issue. If it works, it works; if it doesn't, I'll take the consequences. I might get fined for bringing the game into disrepute, I might be ostracised, they might blow me out I don't care. I'll pay any fine in cash, because it would be a happy release I don't think the RFU want professional club rugby They want to scupper it. There is a sinister agenda there."Earlier this season, Pearce warned that a lack of support at the turnstiles might force him to sever his links with Bristol. Yesterday, he reaffirmed his commitment to the club but after two and a half years of frustration, he is prepared to light the blue touchpaper.

The governing body has responsibilities to sponsors and broadcasters, and they will have to intercede to save this weekend's fixture list The political endgame is now being played out.. It wasn't the prettiest game in the world, yet this hard slog in the mud at Sardis Road could prove to be the most important 80 minutes of the season for the Scarlets. It wasn't the prettiest game in the world, yet this hard slog in the mud at Sardis Road could prove to be the most important 80 minutes of the season for the Scarlets. Llanelli had won at the "House of Pain" only twice on 10 previous league visits, and they desperately needed to pick up a result to stop their season from completely falling apart. With the race for the top five Welsh places in the Welsh-Scottish League hotting up - only those five teams qualify for the Heineken Cup next season - this was a must-win game for both teams.As if being hammered at home by Cardiff in the Principality Cup wasn't bad enough, Llanelli know financial ruin could follow that humiliation if a place among Europe's élite sides is not secured.The Llanelli coach Gareth Jenkins relegated his Wales lock Chris Wyatt to the bench and promoted the fit-again Irish scrum-half Guy Easterby. It was Easterby's first league appearance for four months since breaking his leg, but what an impact he made. Where everyone has been querying the speed and efficiency of Rupert Moon this season, they were marvelling at the spark injected by the Irishman.For their part, Pontypridd had to win to move into the top five.