Ford and his pack put Tigers back in the hunt
Gloucester loose-head Hohneck was blowing hard having tracked back after a Jonny May intercept, and although the Tigers wing was eventually snared and unable to complete his hattrick, his England team-mate Ford was not going to let the visitors off the hook.
After the Leicester flyhalf had converted his own handiwork Gloucester were done for, even though there were 17 minutes left on the clock. They were fortunate not to concede a fifth try to a Leicester side that had rediscovered their finishing touch when Jordan Olowofela was denied after a TMO decision ruled out a clean grounding three minutes from time.
Ford pulled the strings expertly for Tigers throughout, and his urgency, combined with that of a Leicester pack that has managed to re-boot itself proved too much for a Gloucester outfit that was always playing catch-up.
Gloucester’s next assignment is against Munster in the European Cup at Kingsholm on Friday night, and to stay alive they are going to have to bring in the reinforcements and raise the intensity by at least the same multiples as Leicester managed here.
After a Ford penalty had given Leicester an early lead the home side seized the initiative with their backs capitalising on a powerful scrum on the edge of the Gloucester 22. With the ball moved from one touchline to the other Ellis Genge, Ford and Jonah Holmes combined to send May in for the first of his two tries.
With Ford converting and then adding a penalty Leicester led 13-0, but Gloucester, with blindside Freddie Clarke leading the resistance with a series of charges, dug-in for the remainder of the half.
They were rewarded with two Billy Twelvetrees penalties, the second on the stroke of half-time narrowing the deficit to 13-6.
Leicester reimposed their authority by scoring the best try of the match three minutes into the second-half. A crisp attack saw Ford link with Matt Toomua, and the Wallaby centre drifted just wide enough of his marker for Holmes to take his inside pass and spear through.
With Ford converting Leicester led 20-6, and another surgical cut opened-up Gloucester when Mike Williams latched onto a Gloucester loose pass and fed Kyle Eastmond.
When his delayed pass gave Ben Youngs clear passage down the right tramline the England scrum-half’s inside pass – which had a hint of forward about it – sent May racing in again.
Ford made it 27-6 and the game looked up for the visitors. However, Gareth Evans intercepted a Ford pass and held off all-comers to score from 40 metres.
When Twelvetrees converted and added a penalty to make it 27-16 there was a glimpse of a recovery – before Ford made amends for his only blemish and helped Leicester clamber up to mid-table.