mens
Gallagher-Prime Minister
Gloucester head coach George Skivington hailed his side’s resilience and character after seeing them triumph 23-5 Bath in a pulsating encounter to stay top of the Gallagher Prem table.
The win was a remarkable achievement in the circumstances as they overcame their opponents’ first-half shots, keeping them over the line on at least three occasions.
Furthermore, Gloucester conceded 22 penalties and received yellow cards for Ollie Thorley, Ciaran Knight and Will Joseph, but still finished stronger to record their first win over Bath at Kingsholm since 2022.
Freddie Thomas and Max Llewellyn scored Gloucester’s tries, with George Barton converting both and adding three penalties, while Kepueli Tuipulotu’s try was Bath’s only response.
Skivington said: “Everything that could have gone against us tonight did when they pinged us out of the park and went down to 13 men, so we just hung on.
“Bath had a chance to score but despite throwing everything at us they never let it faze them and we never looked like throwing in the towel.
“Bathing at home is the most important thing for our fans and we want Kingsholm to be a fortress and everyone who bought a ticket will want to buy another.
“At the end of the day we want to play attacking rugby and the lads stayed brave tonight. Maybe it wasn’t the right decision at the end but Will Joseph rolled the dice and created Max Llewellyn’s try.”
“However, it was not our best performance because we were not accurate enough, but the resilience and character of the team overcame us.”
It was Bath’s third defeat on the bounce after being convincingly beaten Northampton and Montpellier in the previous games, so 126 points were received during that time.
However, they will wonder how they failed to score in the first half as their pack secured enough possession for three wins.
To add to their miserable night, they lost internationals Santi Carreras and Guy Pepper to injuries.
Bath’s director of rugby, Johann van Graan, said: “Both Santi and Guy will have scans so it’s too early to judge, but in Santi’s case I’d be surprised if it’s not bad news.
“I’m frustrated because we created so many chances but we didn’t finish them and if you don’t finish them, you can’t create pressure.
“The big moment of the game came at the beginning of the second half when we lost only 9-5 and the try was disallowed.
“Our plans to cross the line are working, but we will have to work more on how to get the ball down the floor.
“I’m still pretty calm because parts of our game are going really well, but we have to score in attempts to build the pressure.”