"A lot of what we saw today was a result of the work we have done in pre-season, it was not a day to throw the ball around."

Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam admitted he was "really proud" of his team after they weathered the awful conditions and a second-half fightback from Exeter Chiefs to triumph 20-7 at Ashton Gate.

Gabriel Ibitoye crossed after 27 minutes to put the home side ahead, with James Williams adding the extras followed by a penalty on the half hour to establish a 10-0 lead.

Greg Fisilau's try, converted by Henry Slade, then brought Exeter right back into contention, but a second Williams penalty gave Bristol some breathing space before Luka Ivanishvili touched down in the dying seconds to make sure of the win.

Heavy rain and strong winds made life difficult for both sides, and Lam said: "Conditions like that really challenge your technique and mindset.

"And you can't go into these games without the right mindset because you have to front up physically, but that physicality has to be technically accurate, otherwise you are going to give territory and possession away and miss tackles.

"We allowed them back into the game by dropping a few balls, but our message was 'just be accurate'.

"A lot of what we saw today was a result of the work we have done in pre-season, it was not a day to throw the ball around."