The two West Country rivals enter the new year at opposite ends of the table after a low-key derby which emphasised the problems both face if they are to achieve their very different goals. Bristol are bent merely on survival while Gloucester, who have finished at the top of the Premiership for the last two seasons only to flop in the play-offs, have modified their game in the quest for silverware without looking convincing.

The Bristol head coach, Richard Hill, is targeting certain games, in particular forthcoming home fixtures with sides also wallowing in the relegation mire, and the Friday night February meeting here with Newcastle is set to have a considerable bearing on who finishes bottom. The club may have secured financial backing to guarantee they will be able to finish the season without falling into the hands of administrators but their squad bears the scars of lost battles over money, accumulated from the bargain basement rather than the shop window.

Bristol, with a few notable exceptions, such as the wing David Lemi, lack quality, which is why Hill's realistic target on Saturday was a bonus point, something that was in reach until a mad final few minutes when three tries were scored, two of them by Gloucester who left with an extra bonus point despite showing a lack of enterprise and initiative for long periods of a game they should have sealed before the interval.

Gloucester have tightened up after their play-off failures. Every time the fly-half Ryan Lamb received the ball in his own half he put his boot to it, even when there were overlaps beckoning and despite the fragility Bristol had shown in defence from the opening minutes when the full-back Olly Morgan weaved in and out of six tackles on a 30-yard run to the line.

Gloucester's head coach, Dean Ryan, said his players were no longer exponents of suicide rugby and the time to show abandon was when a decent lead had been established but, if over-ambition and a lack of judgment had been costly maladies before, excessive and jejune caution may undermine them in the coming months.

Gloucester were strong in the tight five. Nick Wood posed problems in the scrum, an area the referee, David Rose, struggled in all afternoon, and not even the introduction of Mark Regan by Bristol at half- time could repair the damage. Alex Brown dominated the lineout but Gloucester's penchant for kicking unless within striking distance, a response to the pre-season directive to referees to be vigilant about what attacking sides got up to at the breakdown, should be reviewed with the directive now all but ignored and they took control when Mike Tindall, who scored two tries, played with his head up.

"You cannot play from your own 25 when a game is delicately poised," said Ryan, but one of the reasons the game was so close for so long – Gloucester led 10–3 going into the final 11 minutes – was that the Cherry and Whites found themselves dragged into a dogfight; as the pace of the game slowed, so Bristol became stronger.

"This is one of the toughest places in the Premiership to come to and I wish them well," added Ryan, a former head coach at Bristol."I am pretty happy with where we are and, if we can push on, we will put ourselves in the mix."

Bristol have had a sinking feeling but a belated injection of funds at least provides the coach with ballast at a crucial stage of the campaign. "I think our chances of survival are still good," Hill said. "There is a need for improvement across the board but we have to concentrate on our matches against the teams around us."

Bristol L Arscott; Robinson, Neil Brew, Eves (Nathan Brew, 64), Lemi; Barnes (Jarvis, 64), Perry (capt); Crompton, Linklater (Regan, h-t), Hobson (Irish, 51), Sambucetti (Attwood, 74), Sidoli, Budgett (Phillips, 73), To'oala, Ward-Smith.

Try Lemi. Con Jarvis. Pen Barnes.

Sin-bin Perry 38.

Gloucester Morgan; Watkins, Tindall (capt), Barkley, Vainikolo; Lamb, Lawson (Lewis, 51); Wood (Dickinson, 78), Azam (Titterrell), Nieto, James (Eustace, 74), Brown, Strokosch, Satala, Narraway.

Tries Tindall 2, Morgan, Vainikolo. Cons Barkley, Lamb 2. Pen Lamb.

Referee D Rose (Birmingham). Attendance 11,845.