Bristol Bears 47 Northampton Saints 10: Tom Vickers' review and player ratings

And Saints are certainly sampling that right now.

It had been hoped that they could spring what would have big a big surprise at Bristol on Tuesday night.

But in the end, it was agonising to watch and, surely, even worse to play in.

Saints shipped three tries after taking a 3-0 lead and, but for Harry Thacker failing to find Semi Radradra, who had been afforded the freedom of Ashton Gate, the bonus point would have arrived well before half-time.

As it was, Saints came out of the blocks with determination and character at the start of the second half and not only made the Bears wait for more scores but grabbed one of their own.

The player who delivered it, Josh Gillespie, is another Saints Academy graduate tipped to enjoy a very bright future.

But the problem for Saints is the present.

They are under fire, taking bullets from all angles and Bristol fired four more before the game was out to take their night's tally to seven tries.

It was an eye-watering 37-point success for the hosts, their biggest at home in the Premiership.

Saints were sorry victims, and their woe was amplified by the loss of not one, but two loosehead props.

So now, not only are they down to the bare bones in the back three, they face the same scenario in the front row.

Francois van Wyk stands alone as the only fit senior loosehead at Saints ahead of huge battles with Leicester, Exeter, Sale and Gloucester.

Saints will have to move into the market to complete a season that many would be happy to see end now.

It just hasn't been what was dreamed of when the cage of lockdown finally opened.

In fact, it has almost been the complete antithesis.

Games have come in quick succession but so have the defeats.

And it is alarming to see how other sides - notably Bristol, Wasps and Bath - have kicked on with confidence while Saints have been left in the shadows.

They are on a horrible run of nine defeats in their past 11 Premiership games.

And at the moment there seems no end in sight for their suffering.

But, as boss Chris Boyd said, they simply have to find a way this weekend.

There would be no better day on which to turn it around than derby day.

Saints have won three league games on the bounce at Welford Road as they have climbed the hill.

But at the moment, they are rolling down it.

However, having covered Saints for long enough to know what true lows look like, this is also a club that is capable of providing a positive when it is needed most.

To do that, they have to find a way to break the dangerous cycle of porous defending and profligate attacking.

Yet again on Tuesday night, they didn't make the opposition spend much time in their 22 before a try came.

But at the other end, it seemed to take an age for the Ashton Gate dam to burst.

Gillespie finally did the business, but it was Bristol who were able to really flow late on, aided by the crazy rule that saw Saints have to sacrifice a man and play with 14.

There were further shenanigans surrounding players coming on and off that really must be looked at, especially with player welfare supposedly at the forefront of so much these days.

But that wasn't what lost Saints the game.

It was the fact Bristol are riding the crest of a wave and have managed to get most facets of their game right in recent times.

Not only can they dazzle with ball in hand but they can do damage with their forwards and defend like their lives depend on it.

Sadly, Saints haven't been able to do that since January, when the sensational success at Lyon saw them hit their peak.

They are feeling the pain and the strain right now and it will only get worse if they lose to their old rivals, who would love to twist the knife on Sunday.

It almost doesn't bear thinking about.

But Saints will be tasked with bringing pride back this weekend, and, again, there is no place better to do that than at Welford Road.

They've just got more than a few things to sort out first.

How they rated...

TOMMY FREEMAN

Made one brilliant last-ditch tackle and turnover on Harry Thacker as his tricky learning experience continues... 5.5

RYAN OLOWOFELA

Shot out of the line a couple of times but did scramble well on a few occasions. It was a mixed showing from a young player who has shown some promise... 5

FRASER DINGWALL

Tried to battle on through injury in the second half, taking responsibility by carrying hard, but he was eventually forced off... 5

PIERS FRANCIS

Turned to the boot early on to try to open the door for Saints and did some good things while also putting in a huge amount of tackles against the tide... 5.5

TAQELE NAIYARAVORO

Looked lively early on, but Bristol soon got hold of him to stop him having any real say on this game... 5

JAMES GRAYSON

Produced a delicate grubber kick for Josh Gillespie's try and tried to find openings, but didn't have much to work with... 5.5

TOM JAMES

Was making his first Saints start and did some useful things early on, but wasn't really able to create too much... 5

DANNY HOBBS-AWOYEMI

A horrible night for the unfortunate prop as he suffered a hand injury before snapping his Achilles tendon

MIKE HAYWOOD

Kept plugging away, with carry after carry, but there wasn't much reward against a strong Bristol defence... 5.5

EHREN PAINTER

Wasn't able to have a real impact on the game in open play and Bristol put pressure on at scrum time... 4.5

ALEX MOON

Ensured Saints didn't replicate the lineout struggles of recent weeks as he pouched quite a few, and he worked so hard in open play for the full 80 minutes... 6

NICK ISIEKWE

May be wondering what he has signed up for after recent defeats but he did what he could on a tough night... 5.5

JAMIE GIBSON

Popped up in some good positions for Saints and showed his speed with one sprint down the right, but Bristol stopped it being a telling run... 5.5

LEWIS LUDLAM

Was unlucky to be sacrificed after Saints lost two loosehead props, and the skipper had emerged with plenty of energy at the start of the game... 5.5

SHAUN ADENDORFF

Was one of Saints' better performers on the night as he continued his decent start to his Saints career... 6.5

Replacements (who played more than 20 minutes)

NICK AUTERAC (for Hobbs-Awoyemi 27)

Like the man he replaced, he was unable to really get to grips with the game because of injury

JOSH GILLESPIE (for Naiyaravoro 53)

Even though it was a night to forget for Saints as a whole, it was one to remember for the 19-year-old wing, who bagged a try on his first Premiership appearance... 5.5

REECE MARSHALL (for Auterac 55)

Came on at a tough time as Saints were having to go down to 14 men and the door was starting to open again for Bristol... 5

KARL GARSIDE (for Painter 56)

The Bears were hungry up front and this was not an easy encounter for the prop to step into... 5

HENRY TAYLOR (for James 58)

Kept going right until the end, making a superb try-saving tackle in the corner to stop things getting even worse... 6

CHRON STAR MAN - Ben Earl (Bristol)