Gllaawwssterrrr – Tilly J
As many of you already know, I am proud to be a Gloucester fan, whether it’s a pint of Stowford Press, sitting in the Big Dug or simply the West Country accent. Despite the constant losing (check out one of my previous articles “What does it mean to be a fan? ” to get over this), this week marked a monumental win against the Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate, something the Cherry and Whites supporters never expected to happen:
Gloucester were looking for a faster start than at Kingsholm last weekend, when they fell 17 points down to Saracens. However, when Garbiel Ibitoye of the Bears burst over for the home side after just two minutes, the picture seemed all too similar for Cherry & Whites fans.
But Gloucester responded almost immediately with a try of their own to level the scores. Much has been made of Christian Wade’s chance of chasing down Chris Ashton’s Premiership try-scoring record in the build up to his return to English rugby, and the winger got one score closer with his first try in Cherry & White at Ashton Gate. George Barton’s conversion levelled the scores. 7-7.
The home side went back on the offensive, but the Gloucester forwards did well to halt a five-metre line-out that looked bound for their try line.
After repelling the Bears attack, Gloucester broke down field with clean breaks from Seb Atkinson, Tomos Williams and Freddie Thomas, with the latter leading to a second try for the visitors. Thomas combined well with the evening’s skipper, Williams, to get over the whitewash. Barton added another two points from the boot to extend their lead. 7-14.
Gloucester were playing with a little bit of freedom now, and were forcing the home side into giving away penalties.
The Cherry & Whites opted to kick for the corner first, the Bears defence stood strong, but were forced into conceding another penalty. Williams, with the advantage in his back-pocket, chipped over the top for his Wales teammate, Gareth Anscombe to claim and dot down. Barton maintained his 100% record from the tee with a third conversion. 7-21.
Bristol, down to 13 men thanks to sin-binnings for Siva Naulago and Harry Randall, still managed to close the gap with a penalty from the boot of AJ MacGinty. Back up to a full capacity and they were on the hunt for a five-pointer this time, only to be picked off by Wade in the 22. Wade then raced away three quarters of the field to score his second of the game, wrapping up Gloucester’s bonus point in the process. Barton’s conversion took the scores to 10-28 with under ten minutes until the interview.
Bears showed their resolve to score a try of their own with the clock in the red. Naulago atoning for his yellow card with a score in the corner.
Half-time: Bristol Bears 15-28 Gloucester Rugby
Gloucester added another three to their tally after half-time, with Barton knocking over a penalty in front of the sticks. But the fourteen point gap didn’t last long, with former Cherry & White burrowing over for Bristol shortly after. An easy conversion from MacGinty closed the margin to just nine points in Gloucester’s favour. 22-31.
Barton added another three from the boot to ease the pressure slightly just before the our mark, but Gloucester needed more to outscore a hungry Bristol attack.
They kept their foot on the pedal and Wade sealed an incredible hat-trick with twenty minutes left when his own kick through bounced straight into his hands. Barton was successful once more from the tee to further increase the damage. 22-41.
As expected, the Bears bit back hard. Tries from Max Malins (x2) and Rich Lane brought the scores level with six minutes to go. 41-41.
But Barton’s 78th minute penalty ensured a first win of the Gallagher Premiership season for George Skivington’s men.
Full Time: Bristol Bears 41-44 Gloucester Rugby
POTM: Christian Wade
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