A surprisingly strong Bristol Bears side dispatched Ampthill - the lowest-ranked side in the Premiership Rugby Cup this season - 74-14 on Saturday to move top of Pool D at least overnight.

With the five pool winners and then the three best runners-up progressing to the quarter-finals, Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam tasked his side with bagging a bonus point win and running up the score to improve his side’s points difference to give the Bears the best possible chance of reaching the knockout stages.

READ MORE: Pat Lam explains why he put Bristol Bears youngsters out to the slaughter against Queensland Reds

READ MORE: Pat Lam explains why he put Bristol Bears youngsters out to the slaughter against Queensland Reds 

READ MORE: Bristol Bears vs Queensland Reds team news: Pat Lam explains his weakened selection

It was an enjoyable day out for Bristol winger Deago Bailey who stole the show with four tries as the Bears ran in 12 in total. Joining him on the scoresheet were Benjamin Grondona, Noah Heward, Kieran Marmion, Benjamin Elizalde (2), Kalaveti Ravouvou, Tomas Gwilliam and Joe Jenkins.

The kicking duties were shared between Harry Byrne, Benjamin Elizalde and Benhard Janse van Rensburg, with the Irish international fly-half landing two conversions before leaving the field three minutes before halftime as a precaution after taking a knock. Elizalde landed one kick while Janse van Rensburg added the extras to three tries.

Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam said: “It was tough conditions but the boys did a professional job and got the job done. We needed five points and an improved points differential as well. There were some good tries out there and we missed out on some as well and this is a credit to Ampthill. It reminded me of the Championship days my first year at Bristol, Ampthill rose to the occasion and were getting stuck into the guys but the boys held their nerve.”

Ampthill did cross the whitewash twice through Mason Cullen and Oran McNulty with George Barton converting both efforts but as the scoreline suggests it was a largely one-sided contest.

Discussing Bailey’s four-try performance, Lam said: “You want boys to take their chance when they get it. One thing about Deago is he is very strong on the ball. He has been doing a lot of work on what he does off the ball but when he gets it in his hands he is devastating. I was really pleased for him, he finished off some nice tries.”

Bristol will now turn their attention to Friday night’s trip to Bedford Blues before concluding the group stages of the competition at home to Bath.

Ampthill: 15. Evan Mitchell, 14. Mason Cullen, 13. Sione Vaenuku, 12. Fraser Strachan (c), 11. Vereimi Qorowale, 10. Josh Barton, 9. Rory Morgan; 1. James Flynn, 2. Luke Thompson, 3. James Johnston, 4. Arthur Thomas, 5. Jake Parkinson, 6.Charles Rylands, 7. Max Clementson, 8. Lekima Ravuvu

Replacements: 16. Aleki Lutui 17. Richard Barrington 18.Callum Norrie 19. Tino Mapapalangi 20. Cameron Rafferty 21. Roan Frostwick 22. Byron Sharwood 23. Oran McNulty

Bristol Bears: 15. Benjamin Elizalde, 14. Noah Heward, 13. Kalaveti Ravouvou, 12. Joe Jenkins, 11. Deago Bailey, 10. Harry Byrne, 9. Kieran Marmion; 1. Yann Thomas (c), 2. Will Capon, 3. George Kloska, 4. Josh Caulfield, 5. Steele Barker, 6. Santiago Grondona, 7. Kofi Cripps, 8. Benjamin Grondona

Replacements: 16. Tomas Gwilliam, 17. Andrew Turner, 18. Jimmy Halliwell, 19. Steven Luatua, 20. Fitz Harding, 21. Sam Edwards, 22. Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 23. Rich Lane