Defeat to Tigers very disappointing – coach
GLOUCESTER Rugby head coach George Skivington admitted he would find it hard to pick out any positives from their narrow home defeat to Leicester, which brought a halt to their mini-revival in the Gallagher Premiership.
The Tigers claimed their first away victory of the season after a titanic forward battle, where three close-range tries from Tom Youngs, Dan Kelly and Harry Wells saw them home. Zack Henry also kicked a penalty and a conversion.
The home side’s tries came from Santiago Carreras and Ed Slater, with George Barton adding two conversions.
Skivington conceded: “It’s very disappointing and it’s difficult to find any positives because we were outmuscled.
“It wasn’t a great game as there were a lot of mistakes and therefore no rhythm.
“I’m glad that we stayed in the fight to the end and we could have won, but Leicester showed some terrific defence.
“They played a kicking game and executed it very well to squeeze us as it was very tough and gritty out there – but we fell away at the simple issues.”
After morale-boosting victories over Worcester and Wasps, next up for Gloucester is a difficult-looking trip to Harlequins and Skivington
GLOUCESTER RUGBY ... 14 LEICESTER TIGERS ....... 20
added: “Harlequins will be a tough challenge because they’ve only lost at Exeter by a point.
“However it will be a totally different game to this, probably a free-flowing one which will test our fitness levels.”
Leicester boss Steve Borthwick was delighted to see his side win at Gloucester for the first time since 2016. The director of rugby said: “Gloucester have been playing well of late and it’s always a tough place to come. We knew that the set piece would be crucial and it was a great contest out there.
“We didn’t play well in the last 20 minutes, but we toughed it out and found a way to win, so we are going to enjoy the result.”
Gloucester: Carreras; Sharples, Seabrook, Twelvetrees, Morris; Barton, Heinz; Seville, Socino, Stanley, Slater, Alemanno, Reid, Ludlow, Ackermann. Replacements: Trinder for Morris (58), Chapman for Heinz (65), Ford-Robinson for Seville (26), Walker for Socino (34), Balmain for Stanley (51), Craig for Alemanno (57), Clement for Reid (53). Not Used: Banahan.
Scorers – Tries: Carreras, Slater. Cons: Barton 2. Leicester: Steward; Van Wyk, Moroni, Kelly, Murimurivalu; Henry, Wigglesworth; De Bruin, T Youngs, Cole, Wells, Green, Brink, Reffell, Liebenberg. Replacements: van Poortvliet for Wigglesworth (62), Leatigaga for de Bruin (52), Clare for T Youngs (52), Heyes for Cole (52), Lavanini for Wells (74), Chessum for Brink (64). Not Used: McPhillips, Porter.
Scorers – Tries: T Youngs, Kelly, Wells. Cons: Henry. Pens: Henry.
Referee: Adam Leal (RFU).