It all comes right for May and Gloucester
THIS was the moment in the season when Kingsholm finally found its voice.
Muted, dispirited and even angry after the loss to Northampton on New Year’s Day, the Shed was a riot of noise as Gloucester put Worcester to the sword with a seven-try slaughter.
For so much of the campaign, Gloucester have been patchier than a home-made blanket. But with the pack showing teeth from start to finish, and the omnipresent Jonny May setting the template for his backline, it was a compelling display.
Captain Greig Laidlaw wrote in his programme notes of Gloucester being a changing room of “proud, determined and passionate” players after a tricky Christmas period, and those characteristics were on display in abundance.
A beaming Gloucester director of rugby David Humphreys hailed an allround team performance and also backed May to become a British Lion.
“It feels like it was the best performance of the season,” he said. “This result is a reward for the players and coaches and the hard work.
“Jonny showed his Xfactor. Every time he gets the ball the defence panics. I feel he will go on the Lions tour.”
For Worcester it was a wounding afternoon.The Warriors are still to register a single championship point away from home this season.
With both captain Dewald Potgieter and England centre Ben Te’o missing with ankle injuries, they looked rudderless for long stretches of the game. They lacked dynamism whenever they had the ball, with the pumping thighs of Samoa flanker Alafoti Faosiliva the exception.
Worcester captain Phil Dowson said: “We haven’t shown any sort of character. We are in a relegation dogfight now and we currently have no momentum.”
Gloucester made light work of the heavy conditions, capitalising on a rash of Worcester errors to race into an early 17-0 lead.
Laidlaw kicked a penalty and May picked a fine line to lunge over for the opening try, before counter- attacking flair by Billy Twelvetrees and May put centre Matt Scott away for the first of his two tries.
Worcester finally found a way into the game thanks to the bullocking running of Faosiliva. And with Gloucester’s defence briefly looking vulnerable, Cooper Vuna scored with a slippery slalom to the tryline.
The Cherry and Whites’ response was immediate, with flanker Jacob Rowan cantering through the Worcester midfield far too easily off first-phase ball. Laidlaw converted, but had to leave the pitch with a head injury moments later when he collided with Ryan Mills’ knee.
Billy Burns stretched Gloucester’s lead to 27-7 soon after the resumption with a penalty. But the real joy for Gloucester came when replacement John Afoa ran in the bonus-point try from 20 metres following a neat inside pass from Jeremy Thrush.
Charlie Sharples capitalised on a lineout drive to touchdown, and three minutes later Scott grabbed his second, surging out of his own 22 after pouncing on a botched looping move by Worcester.
There were late consolation tries for the Warriors through Tevita Cavubati and Faosiliva. But there was still time for Gloucester to hit the half century and finish the rout, with prop Josh Hohneck providing the finishing touch to a lineout drive.