Bristol, who start their 2022-23 EPCR Challenge Cup campaign at USAP in Pool A on the weekend of December 9-11, notched five tries through Ellis Genge (2), Magnus Bradbury, Luke Morahan and Will Capon.

In response, Bath, who are also in Pool A, relied heavily on the boot of Piers Francis, who tallied 19 points, with Ben Spencer and Tom Dunn dotting down in defeat.

Elsewhere, fellow Pool A outfit Newcastle Falcons lost 31-40 at home to Heineken Champions Cup side Harlequins despite two tries from George McGuigan, plus one apiece for Adam Radwan, Nathan Earle and Logovi'i Mulipola.

Pool B’s Worcester Warriors also succumbed to Heineken Champions Cup opposition in London Irish, who coasted to a 45-14 home win, with consolation tries for the visitors from Curtis Langdon and Jamie Shillcock.

In the TOP 14, Aviron Bayonnais, who have been drawn in Pool B of the Challenge Cup, produced a stunning second-half performance against 2022 Heineken Champion Cup semi-finalists Racing 92 to win 31-25 at Stade Jean Dauger.

Trailing 8-18 at the interval after a Facundo Bosch try, they hit back after the break with two tries in four minutes from Thomas Ceyte and Jean-Teiva Jacquelin - followed by a trio of penalties from Gaetan Germain, who finished with 16 points.

Meanwhile, CA Brive triumphed 17-6 at fellow Pool A side USAP thanks to tries from Joris Jurand, Renger Van Eerten and Enzo Sanga.

Elsewhere, two Pool B sides went down on the road to Heineken Champions Cup teams, Section Paloise 33-24 at ASM Clermont Auvergne despite a try from Yuri Delhommel and a penalty score, plus 12 points from Zack Henry, and Stade Français Paris 30-20 at Castres Olympique, where Nemo Roelofse and Sefa Naivalu touched down.

2020 EPCR Challenge Cup winners Bristol Bears opened their Gallagher Premiership season with a thrilling 31-29 home win over local rivals Bath Rugby on Saturday.