London Welsh will make an immediate return to the Premiership after overcoming big-spending Bristol in the final match at the Memorial Stadium after 92 years. The final aggregate was convincing, but with eight minutes to go the hosts were trailing by eight points having spurned 13 with the boot.

No team had ever won a Championship play-off final leg by more than 19 points and Bristol opted to chip away at the lead of Welsh, who had the best defensive record in the regular season. Nicky Robinson, the former Wales fly-half, lined up two penalties in the opening 12 minutes as the home forwards got on top, especially at the scrum, but even his experience was compromised by nerves and he was wide with both.

The match may, for some reason, have been held in June, but the weather resembled November, grey and wet. The conditions worked against Bristol’s inclination to move the ball quickly and the ball spent plenty of time in the air. Handling was difficult and the home side, who started with a partly controlled frenzy, wasted early opportunities.

London Welsh absorbed the early blows and took their time in possession without wasting it. They defended their lead without being preoccupied with its protection. Gordon Ross, the 36-year old former Scotland fly-half, largely kicked for position, but when he scented an opportunity to instigate a counterattack in his own 22, Seb Stegmann took the move into Bristol’s half only to sloppily lose the ball.

There was no score until the 27th-minute and it went to the Exiles on their first visit to Bristol’s 22, kicking a penalty to touch and taking play through four phases before Ross, positioned in front of the posts 30 metres out, dropped a goal. Ross disguised a deliberate knock-on neatly enough to avoid a yellow card but Bristol used the resulting scrum as the launchpad for their opening try.

Robinson’s cross-kick to the left wing was precisely weighted for Andy Short to catch and score after slithering the last five metres following Nick Scott’s tackle, but he was helped by the Exiles full-back Alan Awcock who, unsure whether to challenge for the ball or let the wing make the catch and then nail him, missed player and ball.

Robinson missed the conversion from the touchline but got off the mark with the last kick of the half when, after Ross had restored London Welsh’s lead with a penalty, he turned Tom May’s infringement at a ruck into three points. The Exiles had just gone down to 14 men, a result of the scrum-half Chris Cook’s deliberate knock-on, and his absence cost his side after the break.

When the home No8 Mitch Eadie picked up the ball at a ruck, he spotted London Welsh had no one in defence where Cook would have been and he made it to the line 40 metres away. The Exiles conceded 10 points in Cook’s absence, and it may have been more had Ruki Tipuna not lost control of the ball at an attacking ruck.

Robinson’s kicking woes continued. When he missed a 40-metre penalty after Tom Bristow was deemed to have collapsed a scrum, his side led by seven points and he had squandered 13. He made way for Adrian Jarvis with London Welsh by now on the wrong side of the referee and struggling to get out of their own half.

Bristol looked to have blown it when Nick Koster tried to kick downfield and messed up. A Ross penalty resulted, putting London Welsh more than two converted tries ahead overall. Adam Hughes’s try with 10 minutes to go gave the home supporters hope, but the last match at the Memorial Stadium was not to be memorable for them as late tries by Vella and Stegmann gave the away side victory on the night.

Bristol Wallace; Amesbury, Tovey (Hughes, 63), Mosses, Short; Robinson (Jarvis, 56), Tipuna (capt; Grindal, 78); Traynor (Hall, 67), Johnston (Lawrence, 60), Cortes (Hobson, 56), Glynn, Townson, Koster (Skirving, 67), Mama, Eadie.

Tries Short, Eadie, Hughes. Pen Robinson.

London Welsh Awcock (Crane, 36); Stegmann, May (capt), Jewell, Scott; Ross, Cook; Trevett (Bristow, 50), Morris (Vella, 63), Edwards (Tideswell, 60), Spencer (West, 60), Corker, Lees, Kirwan, Thorpe (Stedman, 63).

Tries Vella, Stegmann. Con Ross. Pens Ross 2. Drop goal Ross.

Sin-bin Cook 39

Referee L Pearce (RFU). Attendance 12,100.