The Cubs were well beaten 59-17 by Saracens in the opening game of the Academy League at Shaftesbury Park.
A Caspar Reeves double in quick succession was the highlight for the young Bears, with a try from Kieran Hill completing the scores.
The visitors scored first in the encounter, earning a penalty and kicking to the corner where they used their driving maul to crash over.
Bristol replied quickly though, Hill guided a driving maul of his own over the Saracens line to tie the scores at 7-7 after seven minutes.
A third maul try of the match was scored two minutes later as the away side bagged their second of the afternoon.
After the frantic start the game seemed to have settled with the visitors holding a single score lead, until a Zachary Rowles yellow card gave Saracens a prolonged opportunity to pressurise the Bristol line.
The Cubs did well to repel their opponents for the majority of the yellow card period with Evan Morris and Jeke Bulanauca both making remarkable defensive efforts.
However on the stroke of half time Saracens did get their third, as tighthead prop, Gabriel Registe, crossed the whitewash in the 34th minute.
Zac Finch grabbed another for the North London side early in the second half, retrieving a cross field kick to run over the Cubs line.
Although 21 points down, Bristol remained resilient and were rewarded with a pair of tries finished by pacey winger, Reeves.
The first a brilliant team try, as Osian Williams jumped highest to catch the Cubs restart before the ball was spun wide to the right wing for Reeves to dive over.
The second was more of a solo effort as the winger from Taunton School worked hard to finish in the same corner, pulling the score back to 28-17.
With 25 minutes still to play it seemed possible for Bristol to pull of a remarkable comeback but, to their credit, Saracens fought back to re-earn the momentum in the game.
The visitors bagged five tries in the remainder of the match with Noah Caluori and Tai Alleyne among the scorers.
The Cubs travel to Chippenham RFC next weekend, where they will face Bath Academy.
Bristol Bears U17 28-24 Saracens U17
The Under 17’s dominated possession in a tight affair with Saracens, winning 28-24 after a score for Ned Hill in the final play of the match.
Casper Wheeler, Glen Gammell and Jamie McKelvey scored the other tries for the Young Bears with a flawless Lewis Popple performance from the kicking tee the difference between the two sides.
Saracens opened the scoring in the fourth minute, kicking to the left wing to dot down and make the score 5-0.
In the 20th minute Bristol replied after a prolonged period of time with the ball as fly half, Popple, kicked an inch perfect penalty to get the Cubs to within five metres of the visitor’s line.
Captain, Wheeler, threw into the lineout and the destructive driving maul did the rest as the hooker bundled over to grab the first Bristol try of the match.
Ten minutes later the hosts scored again, a short pass from Popple sent Gammell through a gap in the Saracens defence to dive over, making the score 14-5.
In the final play of the first half, Saracens reduced the deficit to four points, scoring out wide after a slick backs move.
The visitors began the second half similarly to the first, scoring with a cross field kick, only this time on the other wing, to make the score 17-14.
Again the Young Bears replied, as Vinnie Sims made a beautiful line break before connecting with his centre partner George Williams to get Bristol deep into the Saracens red zone.
After a number of phases inches from the Saracens try line, McKelvey carried over to restore the Cubs lead.
Moments later, Gammell stopped a certain try. The full back worked hard to the far wing to make a tap tackle on the visitors’ winger who was baring down on the Bristol try zone.
Late in the game it seemed that Saracens had won it as they scored under the sticks to make the score 24-21.
But in the last play of the match, Hill carried over the Saracens try line from the back of five metre scrum to win the game 28-24 for the Cubs.
