Warriors Development’s first match of the new season ended all square after an epic battle under the Friday night lights at Sixways.
Defences dominated the first half an hour as neither side could find a way to open the scoring.
But the game came to life in the 27th minute as Bristol were awarded a penalty try before Billy Searle converted.
Tiff Eden got Warriors off the mark with a penalty but Charlie Amesbury’s converted try gave Bristol a 14-3 lead.
Warriors, who were overseen by Defence Coach Simon Cross, refused to let Bristol out of sight before the break and hit back courtesy of a converted penalty try before Eden kicked a penalty to cut the visitors’ lead to 14-13 at the interval.
Bristol dominated in the early stages of the second period as Marc Jones grounded before Searle converted once again.
But the match was turned on its head thanks to quick-fire tries from Jamie Shillcock and Alex Hearle, who both showed great pace to race over the line.
The tries put Warriors 25-21 ahead – but the scoring didn’t end there. Andy Uren forced his way over for Bristol before Eden ensured the sides shared the spoils with a late penalty.
The Warriors Development XV included the three players who helped England Under 20s to the World Rugby Under 20 Championship this summer.
In fact 12 of Warriors' starting line-up were age-grade internationals as they looked to push their stake for a first-team place.
After being forced to defend in the opening exchanges, Warriors looked to find their rhythm and Max Stelling and Jamie Shillcock both looked dangerous in possession.
Both sides were working hard to get the upper hand but try-scoring chances were few and far between.
The first-half was becoming somewhat of a stalemate but Bristol were enjoying the majority of possession.
The visitors kicked a series of penalties into touch but Warriors were able to repel their opponents for the majority of the first-half.
But Bristol did finally go ahead after their forward pack drove their way over the line from another penalty.
The referee adjudged Warriors to have illegally prevented the try and raced underneath the posts to award a penalty try.
Searle converted as Bristol claimed a 7-0 lead just before the half-hour mark.
Warriors looked to strike back and Eden got the home side on the board as he launched a penalty from a tight angle just inside the Bristol half.
The visitors were clearly intent on putting daylight between themselves and Warriors and soon went over for their second try as Amesbury dove over in the corner.
Searle converted from a tight angle as Bristol stormed to a 14-3 lead.
The game had come alive and Warriors finally had their first try of the evening as George de Cothi was hauled down on the tryline by a man who failed to retreat after a penalty.
The referee awarded Warriors a penalty try, allowing Eden to reduce his side’s deficit to four points at 14-10 with the conversion.
Warriors started to dominate proceedings as the half-time whistle loomed and Eden kicked another penalty for the hosts as Bristol saw their lead cut to 14-13 at the break.
Warriors looked to build on their strong first-half finish after the break but Bristol again came out strongly.
The visitors increased the pressure on Warriors as Marco Mama was sent to the sin-bin before Bristol looked to drive their way to the line.
And they finally did just that as Jones touched down before Searle kicked his third conversion to give Bristol a 21-13 advantage.
Bristol seemed to be gaining an unassailable lead but Warriors were in no mood to give up and Shillcock raced down the left after a clever offload to take the scoreline to 21-18 to the visitors.
And Warriors soon stormed into the lead for the first time in the match as Hearle found space through the centre and just about had the legs to make it all the way to the line.
Eden’s conversion put Warriors 25-21 ahead with just over a quarter of the match remaining.
But the lead changed hands almost instantly as another Bristol replacement Uren touched down following good work from the forward pack.
Searle converted before Eden struck a penalty as the two sides went toe to toe at 28 apiece.
Both sides searched for a winner as time ticked away. But neither team could find an edge as the first match of the season ended all square.
Timeline
27m | Penalty try 0-5
28m | Searle con 0-7
32m | Eden pen 3-7
34m | Amesbury try 3-12
34m | Searle con 3-14
36m | Penalty try 8-14
37m | Eden con 10-14
40m | Eden pen 13-14
44m | Jones try 13-19
45m | Searle con 13-21
54m | Shillcock try 18-21
57m | Hearle try 23-21
58m | Eden con 25-21
62m | Uren try 25-26
63m | Searle con 25-28
65m | Eden pen 28-28
Warriors Development XV: 15 Jamie Shillcock, 14 Alex Hearle, 13 Max Stelling, 12 Will Butler, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Tiff Eden, 9 George de Cothi; 1 Derrick Appiah, 2 Jack Singleton, 3 Joe Morris (White 40-44), 4 Charlie Hewitt, 5 Andrew Kitchener (Clegg 65), 6 Huw Taylor (C), 7 Zax Xiourouppa (Ripper-Smith 44), 8 Marco Mama
Replacements: 16 Beck Cutting, 17 Joe White, 18 Justin Clegg, 19 Sam Ripper-Smith, 20 Tom Dodd, 21 Jacob Nash, 22 Colin Dickson, 23 Conor Bullivant