Old Bristolians 9 pts Ross-on-Wye 7.

ROSS-on-Wye slipped to third spot in High Bridge Jewellers Gloucester 1 after a narrow away defeat.

Trailing 9-7, the Herefordshire side missed a last-gasp 30-yard penalty which would have given them the victory.

With home advantage, Bristolians started brightly and were rewarded with an early penalty.

But Ross improved and hit back with a try from TC Leech, who broke two tackles, after Gareth Holdsworth had drawn the defence.

Chris Brine added the simple conversion to put the visitors 7-3 ahead at the break.

The home side cut the deficit to just one point with another penalty and they went 9-7 ahead from another penalty with only a couple of minutes remaining.

With the clock ticking down, Ross won a penalty 30 yards out. But with a strong wind blowing, the crucial penalty-attempt sailed to the left of the posts.