Bristol's bid for Aviva Premiership survival suffered a crushing blow at Sixways as their relegation rivals Worcester cruised to a 41-24 victory.

The Warriors had a bonus point secured by half-time following a penalty try, plus touchdowns from scrum-half Francois Hougaard, lock Will Spencer and wing Bryce Heem, while Ryan Mills added four conversions and a penalty.

Bristol, two points behind 11th-placed Worcester before kick-off, are now seven adrift at the basement, and three of their remaining five games this season are against title contenders Wasps, Exeter and Saracens.

Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Show all 15 1 /15 Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Ben Moon (England) Placed in the unenviable position of replacing the best loosehead on the world and did himself proud. Lasted 77 minutes of England’s defeat in Wales which is no small feat in such an attritional encounter, and held his own in the scrum and defence with an impressive 19 tackles. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy) Another player who displayed his best in defeat. Ghiraldini was reliable at the lineout and stood out with ball in hand as he carried powerfully in attack. Also contributed with a full 80-minute outing. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Demba Bamba (France) One of France’s most prominent carriers as they finally got their campaign up and running with an impressive victory over Scotland. Looks a real find at 20 years old and can more than hold his own in the front-row. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Cory Hill (Wales) Scored the try that broke England’s spirit and put Wales on the path to victory in Cardiff. Took on responsibility at the lineout when Ken Owens started to wobble, and looked like a man who had emptied the tank when he left the field to huge applause. Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Alun Wyn Jones (Wales) What more can you say about the Welsh captain? Leads by example, but then he’s never short of the right words when they’re needed. A colossus against his oldest enemy as he mentally broke Kyle Sinckler and led the charge in refusing to bow to the English defence. At 33 years old, he seems to be getting better by the day. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Josh Navidi (Wales) Is transpiring to be quite the player at international level as this week he displayed both sides of his game. Defensively brilliant as he ensured everything that he hit stayed hit, but also offered more offensively with smart support play to those around him. One good turnover with Liam Williams brought three points for Wales as they trapped Jonny May in possession. Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Tom Curry (England) Arguably the standout performer of the round. At 20 years of age, the promise in Curry is enough to make every England fan excited, even if it came in a losing effort. England’s half-time lead in Cardiff – and Wales’ inability to get into the match – came through Curry as he scored an opportunistic try and defended like a man possessed. Made an astonishing 17 tackles by half-time and added eight more after the break. Action Images via Reuters Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Louis Picamoles (France) Mr Reliable once again turned up for the resurgent French as they took the fight to Scotland and came away with the victory. Carried emphatically from the base and caused problems for the French back-row, while he was also a rock in defence. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Tito Tebaldi (Italy) Probably the surprise package of the round. Made his first Six Nations appearance since 2014 and proved to be the spark that the Italians needed to get going. Quick to the breakdown that helped produce Edoardo Padovani’s opening try and stripped Conor Murray of the ball to breakaway that set-up the second. He was also a useful addition at the breakdown. REUTERS Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Romain Ntamack (France) Lived up to the high billing he’s received on his first start in the No 10 shirt after two outings at centre, and looked to do enough to hold on to his place for the trip to Ireland. Part of a Toulouse spine running through the back line that clicked into gear and he calmly finished a brilliant 70m move to get France off the mark. EPA Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Josh Adams (Wales) A beautiful finish sparked wild celebrations inside the Prinicipality Stadium as he soared above Elliot Daly and juggled the ball as he crashed to the turf before placing it over the line. Superb in defence, particularly aerially, and made a crucial tackle on Jonny May when he looked to be away. Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Gael Fickou (France) Probably one of his best outings for Les Bleus that came at the perfect time with Wesley Fofana still absent through injury. Caused Scotland to retreat on numerous occasions with clean line breaks and also contributed well in defence. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Chris Farrell (Ireland) In the absence of Robbie Henshaw, Garry Ringrose and – after just 11 minutes – Bundee Aki due to injury, Farrell helped ensure that Ireland didn’t slip-up in Rome. It was his clean line break that set-up Quinn Roux to score the opener, while he also linked nicely with Earls outside him for his Munster teammate to scythe through the Italian defence. Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Keith Earls (Ireland) Ireland boss Joe Schmidt couldn’t have asked much more from him as he showed good awareness to link with Conor Murray to score the third try to get Ireland back in front, feigning to go outside before cutting back inside two defenders to score. Made numerous line breaks and also had to show his versatility by moving from wing to centre. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations team of the weekend - round three Thomas Ramos (France) Perhaps harsh on Wales’ Liam Williams who enjoyed an excellent outing in Cardiff, but there was something quite brilliant about watching Ramos’ display in Paris. Beat seven defenders, three of which came in a breath-taking counter attack that led to Ntamack’s try. All of this came on his first Six Nations start, and it felt like the arrival of France’s new long-term full-back. AFP/Getty Images

A return to the Championship after just one season back in English rugby's top flight now looks likely, yet they could have few complaints after being horribly outplayed, despite full-back Jason Woodward's try and a Gavin Henson penalty and conversion briefly giving them hope.

Heem added a second touchdown midway through the second period and centre Wynand Olivier posted a sixth try in the final minute, while Bristol's replacement hooker Max Crumpton and wing Tom Varndell claimed consolation scores - Woodward and Jack Wallace converted - but the damage had long been done.

South African star Hougaard ran the show for Worcester, capitalising repeatedly on woeful Bristol defending as the Warriors delivered arguably their most dominant 40-minute display of the campaign before a second Heem try underlined Worcester's superiority and Olivier rubbed salt into a gaping Bristol wound.

Worcester made a late change in their starting line-up, with hooker Joe Taufete'e replacing Niall Arnett, who failed a late fitness test. Bristol, meanwhile, showed one switch from last weekend, with prop Anthony Perenise being ruled out due to a hamstring injury and Gaston Cortes being handed a start.

The game began in dramatic fashion as Worcester were awarded a penalty try after just 68 seconds.

Warriors skipper Donncha O'Callaghan was driven to within inches of Bristol's line, only to be illegally halted by Dan Tuohy, and referee Wayne Barnes had no hesitation in giving the penalty try, with Mills converting.

Tuohy was also sin-binned, and Bristol were all over the place during a frantic opening that saw Mills increase Worcester's lead through a sixth-minute penalty.

Bristol initially struggled to get out of their own half, yet on their first excursion into Worcester territory, Warriors had Heem sin-binned for a dangerous tackle on prop Ryan Bevington, and Henson kicked a penalty that opened the visitors' account.

Worcester, though, resumed normal service just two minutes later after Bristol hooker Marc Jones overthrew a lineout and Hougaard accepted the gift before sprinting 35 metres without any defender touching him, and Mills' conversion made it 17-3.

Wynand Oliver posted a sixth try in the final minute (Getty)

The game's frantic nature continued at pace, and with Worcester still a player down, Bristol took advantage following close-range pressure as scrum-half Alby Mathewson's pass found Woodward, who breached weak tackling for a try that Henson converted.

But it was only a temporary reprieve for Bristol as Worcester posted two converted tries during the closing six minutes of an ultimately one-sided first period.

Spencer powered over for the first after Worcester's forwards spread-eagled their opposite numbers from close range, then a stunning Hougaard break sent him clear in space before he delivered a scoring pass to Heem.

Henson kicked five points during the defeat (Getty)

Mills kicked both conversions, and Worcester trooped off 31-10 ahead with a try-scoring bonus point already in the bag.

Bristol enjoyed territorial supremacy during the third quarter - Varndell went close to scoring in the corner - yet Worcester's defence held firm as they looked to consolidate on their impressive first-half work.