Second half comeback sees Gloucester take victory at Kingsholm

A strong second half showing saw Gloucester Rugby fight back to claim a 27-23 win over Bath Rugby at Kingsholm.

Bath came out of the blocks firing with their first try coming inside the first five minutes. Jamie Roberts made the first scything break into the Gloucester 22, before the Blue, Black and White built over 20 phases in the opposition danger zone. Spotting the space out wide, Freddie Burns put in a superbly weighted cross-field kick, to find Ruaridh McConnochie, who did the rest. Burns went from provider to scorer, as the fly-half slotted the extras. [0-7]

Bath continued to mount pressure from the restart and were quickly back on the Gloucester line. Their efforts were rewarded as Burns kicked his side further in front after the Cherry and Whites were penalised for offside. [0-10]

It got better for the visitors, with Tom Dunn adding a second try on the 18 minute mark. Bath had controlled almost all of the territory in the early stages and it was Joe Cokanasiga, who showed his attacking intent powering his way into the 22. A sublime pass from Kahn Fotuali’i sent Dunn through, who crossed with Sam Underhill in support. Burns added the extras from out wide. [0-17]

It was a half of two halves, with Gloucester dominating the closing 15 minutes of the first period. However, Bath showed their strength in defence, as they managed to withstand a lengthy passage of pressure. 

With the clock in the red, Gloucester finally got their reward with their first points of the afternoon. The hosts secured quick ball from the line-out, before Danny Cipriani stepped into the line to provide the crucial pass. The in-form fly-half dummied a pass out the back, before finding his intended target Josh Hohneck on his shoulder. The prop crashed through to score, with Billy Twelvetrees added the conversion to reduce their deficit to 10 going into the interval. [7-17]

Half-time Gloucester Rugby 7-17 Bath Rugby

The momentum continued to swing in favour of Gloucester, with Beno Obano sent to the sin bin for a no arms tackle a minute into the half. With the numerical advantage, Ruan Ackermann showed quick thinking from the free-kick to put his side to within three points with 44 minutes played. [14-17]

Bath looked to stem the flow and just four minutes later they were back on the scoreboard. After McConnochie was taken in the air under the high ball, Burns kept a cool head to slot a long range penalty. [14-20]

However, it didn’t take long for Gloucester to register their third of the West Country derby. Former Bath man Matt Banahan instigated the move, as the ball was spread out wide to the right wing. The full-back looked to have enough pace to go in to score himself, but unselfishly sent Henry Purdy through to touch down in the corner. Twelvetrees’ missed conversion ensured Bath held on to a narrow lead. [19-20]

Intelligent thinking from Burns took Bath’s further in front. With Bath losing forward pressure in the attack, the fly-half put boot to ball and fired over a drop goal from 30 metres out. This gave Bath a four-point lead going into the last 20 minutes. [19-23] 

Gloucester picked up their fourth and bonus-point try after 63 minutes. With the attack just outside the Bath 22, Twelvetrees and Cipriani combined to put Matt Banahan into space on the right wing. The full-back drew in the last man before sending Tom Seabrook over the try line. Twelvetrees' conversion drifted wide, with the score closely poised. [24-23]

The hosts extended their lead with a Twelvetrees penalty, as Bath were adjudged to have infringed at the maul. Twelvetrees slotted the routine penalty in front of the posts and Gloucester held out the remaining 10 minutes to claim the derby victory. [27-23]

Full-time Gloucester Rugby 27-23 Bath Rugby