mens
Gallagher-Prime Minister
Gloucester continued their revival to stay top of the Gallagher Prem table with a hard-fought 23-5 win over Bath before a sold-out Kingsholm.
Victory looked unlikely when Bath completely dominated much of the first half, but Gloucester somehow survived for a morale-boosting win.
It was a disappointing night for Bath as they fell to a third straight defeat and lost both Santi Carreras and Guy Pepper to injury.
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.
Gloucester had the better of the early exchanges before Bath suffered a huge blow when former Gloucester favorite Carreras slipped and damaged his ankle. The full-back received lengthy treatment on the floor before being helped off by Ciaran O’Donoghue.
Bath overcame this stalemate and produced the first attacks of the night. They too had two shots on goal saved and looked to have taken the lead when Tuipulotu was awarded a try, but a TMO replay showed the hook was dragged under the line as he broke away from the touchline.
Bath were still able to keep up the pressure by besieging the opposition line. Gloucester conceded a number of penalties and eventually their winger Ollie Thorley was booked for the team’s persistent fouling.
Another try was awarded, this time to Bath’s Enoch Opok-Gyamfi, but this effort was also ruled out as the striker lost possession before hitting the shot.
Gloucester conceded 11 penalties in the opening 27 minutes and it was no surprise when prop Ciaran Knight became their second player to get in the basket.
Interestingly, Gloucester scored the first points after 31 minutes, when Barton knocked over a penalty after Pepper was adjudged to be offside.
Gloucester got it back to 14 when Barton soon kicked two penalties in quick succession, but the last move of the half saw Bath finally score with a Tuipulotu try from the touchline to leave them trailing 9-5 at the interval.
After the restart, Will Joseph became Gloucester’s third yellow card for a deliberate knock on the centre, but Bath once again ruined their chances and they were made to pay.
Gloucester broke out to provide an attacking platform with Caolan Englefield and Jack Clement making key contributions for Thomas to break through.
Bath changed four forwards in one flurry in an attempt to turn the tide, but it was the signal for Gloucester to raise their intensity with intricate play from the back, putting the visitors on the back foot.
Bath suffered another blow when their international winger Guy Pepper was assisted, forcing winger Louie Hennessey to pack into the back row at the next scrum, and their miserable night was complete when Llewellyn forced his way over.
