The hosts produced an impressive second half fight-back at Ashton Gate to eventually take the lead, but Knoyle's try and a resilient finish defensively meant Wilson's reign in charge of the GUINNESS PRO12 club started with a win.
"I was obviously pleased with the win," he told WalesOnline. "We had spoken about improving our spirit and showing that we can win games in hard times and fight to the end. We showed that tonight.
"Our defensive effort was good against a strong Bristol attack. I'm not sure how many phases we had to withstand at the end of the game but we held out.
"We showed improvement in defence, but we have a long way to go in that department yet. Perhaps tonight we put ourselves under pressure with some poor discipline.
"But flip that to our attack and we scored some nice tries by playing some of the rugby that we want to play.
"Our discipline was definitely an area of concern for me; we gave away a lot of penalties and we need to look at that. But to start with a win was pleasing."
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