Gloucester power to away triumph
GLOUCESTER opened their first pre-season fixture with a win over Munster at Musgrave Park.
George Skivington’s men won the physical battle throughout the first half, leaving Munster with 21 unanswered points at half time.
Skivington said: “There was lots of good stuff out there tonight. I thought the work ethic that we pride ourselves on was definitely there.
“As expected the tempo of the game started slowly and both sides were clearly quite rusty.
“There’s lots for us to work on in the next few weeks but we’re pleased with the performance today.”
Tries from Ollie Thorley and Chris Harris saw the visitors cross the whitewash three times before the break.
Munster found their form in the second half against a younger Gloucester side, matching the visitor’s three tries.
Thorley opened the scoring for the visitors within the first 90 seconds, dotting down after a dominant attacking line-out from the Gloucester forwards.
Scotland international Harris was next to find himself on the scoreboard, intercepting a pass deep inside his own half to score under the posts.
It was Mark Atkinson who provided the platform for the third and final try of the half, linking with fellow centre Harris, who crossed for his second score.
Munster matched Gloucester’s first half try tally, Calvin Nash crossing the whitewash within 15-minutes of the restart.
A second try came in as many minutes through Alex Kendellen before Gloucester returned the favour, Jack Reeves scoring the visitors fourth try of the evening.
Munster then took the final score of the game through Ruadhan Quinn but it proved just a consolation effort.
The Cherry and Whites have two preseason fixtures on Friday as they face Hartpury and Cardiff in a double header, and Skivington is looking forward to be back playing at Kingsholm.
He said: “We’re looking forward to next week and getting back to Kingsholm. Everyone’s going to get gametime and it’ll be really exciting to see the young lads in action. I’m sure it’ll be a fantastic atmosphere.”