Season-defining derby Bristol loss puts pressure on Gloucester
THE West Country derby looks set to be potentially season-defining for Gloucester Rugby. Bottom of the table Bath come to Kingsholm on Saturday looking for a pride restoring win to drag them off the foot of the table, while the Cherry and White’s play-off hopes hang in the balance after a ‘kick in the gut’ 29-28 defeat to Bristol Bears on Friday night.
With three games remaining in the Premiership, Gloucester sit sixth in the table, a single point off the holy grail of fourth and a place in the play-offs, currently occupied by Northampton Saints.
They are tied on 62 points after 21 games played with fifth-placed Exeter Chiefs, but behind due to games won, with the Devon side having won 12 to Gloucester’s 11.
After Bath this weekend, Gloucester face gruelling back-to-back fixtures against third-placed Harlequins and second-placed Saracens, providing the toughest possible route into the playoff from the chasing pack. The reality is a bonus-point victory on Saturday is an absolute must for George Skivington’s side.
The Cherry and Whites head coach said: “The reality of our position right now is we could finish fourth or ninth, there are five teams very close together.
“For the team who are going to play Bath there is no point looking beyond Bath, it is a massive fixture for us and the outcome of that will either push us forward or push us back, that is how we are looking at it.”
Bath looked to be heading to victory against Northampton Saints last weekend, leading into the final quarter with a 19-point lead, but the Blue, Black and White collapsed in the final 20 minutes to lose 36-31 and finish with just 12 players on the pitch.
Gloucester beat Bath 40-20 at the Rec on Boxing Day in the league, and thrashed their derby rivals 71-10 in the Premiership Rugby back in the Autumn after a mismatch of selections.
But despite the club’s impressive record over Bath this season, Skivington said he was impressed by what he saw from Bath in the first hour against Northampton.
Skivington said: “I am not looking beyond what Bath did last weekend and they did very well, Saints obviously had a flurry at the end and scored some great tries, but for a lot of that game Bath looked very good.
“They obviously haven’t had the season they would want but that Bath squad is full of quality players and you underestimate them at your peril.”
Bristol had played the role of the spoilers on Friday night as winger Toby Fricker scored the biggest try of his life with 90 seconds remaining.
Tries from Harry Thacker, Andy Uren and a Fricker brace was enough to push the hosts past their West Country rivals by a solitary point.
Gloucester scored through Charlie Chapman, Louis Rees-zammit, Chris Harris and Jack Singleton to earn what might prove to be a vital bonus point, but their efforts would be overcome in the closing minutes after some squandered chances in the second half.
The Bears’ pack mauled their way over in the opening minutes for Thacker to touch down.
Moments later the breaking Steven Luatua’s inside pass sent Uren over to double the host’s lead, before Callum Sheedy’s penalty extended the advantage to 17-points.
But as so often has been the case with the Bears the purple patch did not last long for the hosts, as Gloucester responded in fury as Rees-zammit broke down the outside before offloading to Chapman for the five pointer.
George Skivington’s men’s momentum carried them over for a second, as the near-static Rees-zammit steamed through a gap to out-pace Fricker around the outside.
The Cherry and White charge was prolonged as Harris’ pass to Freddie Clarke out wide was returned to the Scotland international to give his side the lead, and Gloucester had managed to go convincingly behind before performing a Lazarus-like recovery in the space of 40 minutes.
After a deadlock for most of the second half that allowed the sides to flex their defensive muscles, including a hold up from Harris on Uren, the game sprang back to life with the sin-binning of Clarke for a cynical knockdown of a pass.
Bristol took advantage, as a momentous Sam Bedlow offload allowed Dan Thomas to break and pass inside to send in Fricker uncontested.
The game took yet another turn as Bedlow, mere moments after his heroics, was given his marching orders after making a high and late tackle on Adam Hastings, as his shoulder collided with the Scotland international’s head.
Gloucester responded quickly, as Singleton charged over from short range after a couple of pick-and-go phases to reclaim the lead.
But the game had one final twist, with Bristol working their way into the visitor’s 22 before shipping it wide to Fricker who did well to charge past both Ollie Thorley and power through the tackle of Santiago Carreras to put the hosts up by a solitary point in the biggest moment of his career.
The Bears claimed the following kick off through Piers O’connor to see out the closing moments.
Skivington will rue some missed opportunities in the second half, as Bristol’s stubborn defence proved too much to overcome.
Bristol: Morahan, Fricker, O’connor, Frisch, Leiua, Sheedy Uren, Woolmore, Thacker, Afoa, Holmes, Vui, Luatua, Jeffries Harding. Replacements: Kerr, Benz-salomon, Armstrong, Joyce, D. Thomas Randall, Bedlow, Bates. Gloucester: Carreras, Rees-zammit, Harris, Atkinson, Thorley Hastings, Chapman, Rapava Ruskin, Socino, Balmain, Clarke Alemanno, Reid, Ludlow, Ackermann. Replacements: Singleton, Elrington, Ford-robinson, Davidson B. Morgan, Meehan, Twelvetrees, Seabrook.
The reality of our position right now is we could finish fourth or ninth, there are five teams very close together George Skivington