Gloucester Rugby withstood a late Bristol Bears revival to prevail slim 44-41 winners at Ashton Gate.
The Cherry and Whites had been pegged again from 41-22 up in the direction of the ultimate quarter of an hour, however George Barton’s late penalty noticed the guests over the road.
Bristol made a flying begin with Gabriel Ibitoye crossing after simply two minutes, however Gloucester took management of the primary half.
Christian Wade went over twice – sandwiching Freddie Thomas and Gareth Anscombe’s efforts – to place the guests 28-10 to the nice, although Siva Naulago minimize the deficit earlier than the break.
Harry Randall decreased the arrears additional, however Wade’s excellent particular person attempt accomplished his hat-trick and gave Gloucester a 19-point buffer.
Bristol responded by Max Malins’ quickfire brace, and after Wade was despatched to the sin bin within the remaining 10 minutes, Wealthy Lane drew them degree.
Nevertheless, all of it proved tutorial two minutes from time, when Barton secured bragging rights for George Skivington’s aspect.
Speaking Level – Gloucester acquire bragging rights
The indicators didn’t look good for Gloucester heading into the West Nation derby.
The Cherry and Whites had gained simply one in all their final six Premiership matches, whereas registering only a single victory from 9 earlier visits to Ashton Gate.
However they settled after a gradual begin and step by step gained management of proceedings. A few of their exchanges of play had been breathtaking to look at, particularly for Thomas’ attempt.
The precise boot of Barton additionally did the harm. The total-back was profitable with all eight of his kicks, together with the decisive penalty with two minutes remaining.
Participant of the Match – Christian Wade (Gloucester)
Wade is again in England with a bang after six years away. He demonstrated his excellent tempo and energy for all three of his tries, notably racing away unchallenged over 80 metres for the second.
The winger notched up his record-breaking sixth Premiership hat-trick, and is quickly closing in on Chris Ashton’s all-time try-scoring document.
Participant Rankings
Bristol Bears: Malins 8, Naulago 7, Van Rensburg 6, J. Williams 6, Ibitoye 7, MacGinty 8, Randall 7, Genge 6, Oghre 6, Kloska 6, Dun 6, Batley 6, Luatua 6, Heenan 6, Harding 6. Replacements: Lahiff 6, Woolmore 6, Capon 6, Lane 7, Caulfield 6, Marmion 6, Grondona N/A.
Gloucester: Barton 9, Wade 9*, Harris 8, S. Atkinson 7, Llewellyn 6, Anscombe 7, T. Williams 7, Vivas 6, Singleton 6, Gotovtsev 6, Thomas 7, Alemanno 6, Clement 6, Taylor 6, Mercer 6. Replacements: Blake 6, Fasogbon 7, Clarke 6, Ford-Robinson 6, C. Atkinson 6, Ackermann 6, Tuisue 6.
Match Highlights
2′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 7-0 GLOUCESTER (IBITOYE): The hosts off to a flying begin! Bristol neatly work the lineout and Ibitoye accelerates into the area, neatly slaloming away from challenges earlier than touching down. MacGinty makes no mistake with the conversion.
8′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 7-7 GLOUCESTER (WADE): What a response from the guests! From their first assault, Gloucester brilliantly work the ball out to the left and Llewellyn neatly hyperlinks up with Wade, who races away earlier than crossing close to the posts. Barton turns 5 factors in seven, and we’re all sq..
20′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 7-14 GLOUCESTER (THOMAS): The guests have turned issues round! Thomas, who scored towards Saracens final weekend, leads Gloucester’s cost. Following a neat change of passes, the lock surges for the road. Barton converts.
24′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 7-21 GLOUCESTER (ANSCOMBE): The Welsh mixture works wonders for the guests! From the breakdown, Williams’ intelligent chip over the Bristol defence is raced onto by Anscombe, who touches down. Barton stays good from the tee.
35′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 10-28 GLOUCESTER (WADE): Bristol push to scale back their arrears, however Malins’ offload is intercepted by the alert Wade. The Gloucester winger subsequently sprints away unchallenged from inside his 22, earlier than diving between the posts. Barton converts 5 factors into seven.
40+2′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 15-28 GLOUCESTER (NAULAGO): The hosts surge for the road and, following a few fast offloads, Naulago is totally free on the appropriate wing to cross. MacGinty can not convert from a good angle, however Bristol have minimize the hole on the break.
51′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 22-31 GLOUCESTER (RANDALL): The hosts preserve their strain and are ultimately rewarded. Retrieving the ball from the breakdown, Randall opts to go himself and nearly stretches over the road. MacGinty converts to scale back the deficit to 9 factors.
63′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 22-41 GLOUCESTER (WADE): Wade completes his hat-trick! The winger chases his personal punt down the road, and Bristol can not cope with the bounce. After Malins fails to retrieve the ball, Wade collects and races in the direction of the posts as soon as extra. Barton converts.
66′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 29-41 GLOUCESTER (MALINS): The hosts safe the bonus level as they surge in the direction of the road. Though Bristol are stopped on the posts, Randall offloads to the onrushing Malins, who bursts over. MacGinty wastes no time in lowering the deficit to 12 factors from the tee.
70′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 36-41 GLOUCESTER (MALINS): The fightback is effectively and really on! The hole is now 5 factors! Gloucester’s defence switches off close to their tryline and Bristol have two males over from the breakdown. MacGinty finds one in all them in Malins, who dashes for the road. The previous shortly converts.
75′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 41-41 GLOUCESTER (LANE): The hosts have accomplished the fightback! They shortly assault from the scrum and assault the area vacated by Wade, with Lane racing for the road within the nook. MacGinty can not fairly convert from a good angle, together with his respectable try clipping the far publish.
78′ PENALTY! BRISTOL BEARS 41-44 GLOUCESTER: The guests regain the lead from the tee with simply over two minutes remaining. Barton makes no mistake as soon as extra. Is that the successful kick?
Key Stats
Gloucester claimed solely their second victory in 10 visits to Ashton Gate.
Christian Wade scored his record-breaking sixth hat-trick within the Rugby Premiership.
