Gloucester courage not enough this time
LA ROCHELLE look a decent bet to win the Heineken Cup as they illustrated their power and class to put battling Gloucester out of the competition.
La Rochelle are currently second in the French Top 14 and with a home draw against Sale Sharks or Scarlets in the quarter-finals it will take a good side to beat them.
Gloucester head coach George Skivington said: “They have the firepower to go on and win the competition but it’s a question of whether they have sufficient depth in their squad to compete on both fronts and whether they make this tournament a priority.
“They are very clued up about what they are doing and they are further down the line than us but our defence was good – the boys were incredibly physical.”
Gloucester gave it their best shot but their opponents were more dominant than the final score would suggest.
La Rochelle’s inter-linking between their back row and their threequarters was a joy to watch and they certainly deserved more than their two tries.
Their centre partnership of Raymond Rhule and Fijian Levani Botia was a constant threat with Botia denied what would have been the try of the game because of an earlier accidental offside.
It says much for the strength of La Rochelle that their three international squad forwards, Gregory Alldritt, Uni Antonio and Pierre Bourgarit, were not needed until midway through the second half and full-back, Brice Dulin, was absent altogether.
For the hosts, back row duo Ruan Ackermann and Lewis Ludlow gave their all with centre Mark Atkinson the pick of the backs as he was the only Gloucester player who tested the French defence. Fly-half, George Barton, 20, produced his best game for the club, standing up bravely in adverse circumstances with his excellent goalkicking keeping his side in contention.
Skivington said: “It’s a massive learning curve for George but he’s tough as he was whacked a few times tonight and got up.
“He is now a genuine first team player and has a huge future at this club. We were short of fly-halves at one stage but we will have Lloyd Evans returning shortly and with Adam Hastings coming in next year the future is bright.”
Louis Rees-Zammit was a late withdrawal for Gloucester with a hamstring strain picked up in the warm-up but they overcame this setback to take an early lead with a Barton penalty. The French soon responded with the opening try when Kevin Gourdon burst away to provide Dillyn Leyds with a run-in.
Barton and Ihaia West exchanged penalties before La Rochelle scored an excellent try when Arthur Retiere finished off a flowing move.
Back came Gloucester to score their only try when Ackermann forced his way over from close range with Barton’s touchline conversion leaving his side just two points adrift at the interval.
Botia split the defence with a powerful run which forced Ludlow into a deliberate offside with West kicking his second penalty as the flanker was yellow carded.
West and Barton each added another penalty before Jules Plisson, came on to kick two penalties and seal victory.