Gloucester 29-15 Exeter Chiefs: Cherry & Whites off the mark in Prem Rugby Cup

After a slow start it was the visitors who struck first, 13 minutes in, through lock Lewis Pearson. A sloppy defensive penalty from Gloucester allowed The Chiefs to convert from a driving maul just five metres out. Harvey Skinner failed to convert with is first attempt off the tee.

Gloucester responded quickly through captain Lewis Ludlow in the 21st minute. A tantalising break from Will Joseph set up a two on one against Will Haydon-Wood and a well timed pass allowed the Gloucester Skipper to waltz over the line. Ross Byrne was accurate from the tee putting the hosts up 7-5 with just under an hour to play.

A dull ten minute spell was quickly changed just before half when both sides traded one try a piece. The Chiefs scored the first when the Exeter driving maul powered over the Gloucester defence allowing Rusi Tuima to score the Chiefs second of the evening in the 34th minute.

Gloucester answered back quickly, just three minutes later, with their fluid style of attack splitting apart The Chiefs defensive set for Max Llewellyn to score his first since recovering from an injury at the tail end of last season. Byrne converted his second of the evening whilst Skinner once again missed from the tee putting the hosts up 14-10.

It was The Chiefs who took the lead into the locker room however, when Exeter captain Ethan Roots matched his opposing talisman with a try at the end of the half. It was a standard Exeter try which came from dominant forward play around the breakdown.

The second half started off slowly with both teams easing back into the game but it was the hosts with the first big chance. A superb chip from Byrne and an equally impressive chase from George Barton pinned The Chiefs back deep inside their own five metre line. A thundering tackle by Freddie Thomas created the turnover and Afo Fasogbon was unfortunate to be held up on the line.

Gloucester eventually got their leading try in the 55th minute after another superb, improvised kick from Byrne sliced open The Chiefs defensive line and Josiah Edwards-Giraud had an easy put down. Byrne missed the extras which put the hosts up with 25 minutes to go.

The fourth try for the hosts came in the 63rd minute when a driving maul of their own was converted by former Chiefs man Jack Innard. Byrne converted the extras giving Gloucester an 11 point lead with under a quarter left to play.

After a delay of game to an injury in the 70th minute, Gloucester seemed to find a second gear. Their tempo increased and this led to a breakdown penalty by The Chiefs just outside of their own 22. George Barton went for the posts and converted the penalty with his first attempt off of the tee for the evening giving The Cherry and Whites a two score lead.

Attendance – 8,208

Player of the Match – Josiah Edwards-Giraud

Tries: 4 (Ludlow 21’, Llewellyn 37’, Edwards-Giraud 56’, Innard 63’)

Conversions: 3 ( Byrne 22’ 37’ 64’)

Penalties: 1 (Barton 76’)

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 0

15. Charlie Atkinson 14. Will Joseph 13. Max Llewellyn 12. Will Butler 11. Ollie Thorley 10. Ross Byrne 9. Caolan Englefield 1. Ciaran Knight. 2. Jack Singleton 3. Afo Fasogbon 4. Freddie Thomas 5. Cam Jordan 6. James Venter 7. Lewis Ludlow (captain) 8. Jack Clement.

Replacements

16. Jack Innard 17. Archie McArthur 18. Kirill Gotovtsev 19. Matais Alemanno 20. Josh Basham 21. Mikey Austin 22. George Barton 23. Josiah Edwards-Giraud

Tries: 3 (Pearson 13’, Tuima 34’, Roots 40’)

Conversions: 0

Penalties: 0

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 0

15. Will Haydon-wood 14. Paul Brown-Bampee 13. Ben Hammersley 12. Harry Ascherl 11. Nick Lilley 10. Harvey Skinner 9. Stephen Varney 1. Will Goodrick-Clarke 2. Joseph Dweba 3. Josh Iosefa-Scott 4. Lewis Pearson 5. Rusi Tuima 6. Christ Tshiunza 7. Ethan Roots (captain) 8. Ross Vintcent

Replacements

16. Jack Yeardle 17. Kwenzo Blose 18. Jimmy Roots 19. Andrea Zambonin 20. Kane James 21. Charlie Chapman 22. Ben Coen 23. Zack Wimbush

1. Ciaran Knight - 4/10 – The loosehead props cameo was cut short after he was taken off with injury after half an hour. He was unconvincing in the scrum but made some dominant challenges in open play.

2. Jack Singleton - 5/10 – The hooker didn’t seem to put a foot wrong tonight but didn’t stand out either. A decent outing from the Englishman who came off at half time.

3. Afo Fasogbon - 6/10 – Fasogbon had a strong series of carries and made some big time hits. It has been a superb 12 months for the young prop and it looks as if his form from last season is carrying over into this season.

4. Freddie Thomas - 6/10 – The Welshman was strong around the set piece and called the lineout well for Gloucester. He was apart of some strong attacking play as well.

5. Cam Jordan - 5/10 – Jordan was slightly quieter than Thomas but had a good period of breakdown play.

6. James Venter - 7/10 – Venter’s first competitive appearance in Cherry and White was sure to excite the Gloucester faithful. The flanker made some crunching tackles and was a menace in the breakdown.

7. Lewis Ludlow - 8/10 – The Gloucester captain got himself on the scoresheet early on and gave a trademark Lewis Ludlow performance. His ball carrying and defensive work rate were both excellent.

8. Jack Clement - 6/10 – Clement had a strong 80 minutes at eight and with James Venter putting in a strong performance it looks like Venter and Clement might be the starting flanker pair for Gloucester this season.

9. Caolan Englefield - 7/10 – Englefield dictated tempo well tonight, his ability to switch between fast and slow paced rugby was a real decider in giving the Gloucester attack the advantage.

10. Ross Byrne - 8/10 – The Irishman was superb in his competitive debut. He hit 75% of the tee but his attacking prowess was on full show. He came up with a pair of kicks which splintered the Exeter defence resulting in Gloucester scores and his ability to improvise when the play broke down was excellent. A bright season ahead in Cherry and White for Byrne.

11. Ollie Thorley - 7/10 – Thorley burst back onto the scene after his long period recovering from injury last season. He looked quick, sharp and twitchy and seemed to bounce around the pitch with the ball in hand.

12. Will Butler - 4/10 – Butler’s appearance tonight was short lived after he was taken off in the first half through injury. In his short cameo he looked lively but his lack of minutes results in him getting a 4/10.

13. Max Llewellyn - 6/10 – Llewellyn played well on his return to competitive rugby after a lengthy period off injured. He was strong in attack as normal and got himself on the scoresheet. He was replaced at half time by George Barton.

14. Will Joseph - 7/10 – Joseph was solid on the wing setting up a try and should’ve got one of his own as well. His ability to cut inside and provide an extra runner was vital in splitting open Exeter’s defence.

15. Charlie Atkinson - 5/10 – Atkinson was relatively quiet at full back today and when switched to fly half he didn’t receive much of the ball.

Replacements - 6/10 – There were a few good performances from the Gloucester bench, George Barton was impressive when he came on, as was Jack Innard. The eight on the bench made sure the tempo didn’t drop in the second half.

Although The Cherry and Whites won tonight, they did lose a few players off to injury. Ciaran Knight and Will Butler were both taken off within the first half. Maz Llewellyn came off at half time and Archie McArthur was stretchered off late into the match. The Gloucester side that was stretched thin due to injury last season will be hoping that they aren’t starting this season in similar circumstances.

The Chiefs looked in full control for parts of the game but every time they put themselves into a positive position a sloppy penalty seemed to counteract this. Exeter Chiefs Director of Rugby highlighted this post match “when you’re a team that has had some tough moments last season, when that first tough moment happens you’ve got to give the lads some way of coping through that and just weathering the storm”. If Exeter had just managed to stay disciplined, they might have headed back to Devon with something out of the game here at Kingsholm.

The turning point for the game was the kicking of Ross Byrne. His conversion rate in the first half helped keep Gloucester within a point at half time and then his creativity helped Gloucester score the winning try. He looks to be a great signing for Gloucester this season and is already a big hit with the Kingsholm faithful.

After a rough 2024/2025 campaign Rob Baxter would’ve been hoping to right the wrongs of the record defeat last time out at Kingsholm. The first half looked like a strong, exciting Exeter side but the second half was a different story. A few sloppy defensive penalties saw The Chiefs crumble and it looked a lot like the side of last season. Maybe it is a few teething issues for the new signings but for those down south they’ll be hoping there is some new life to this Chiefs side that wasn’t on show today.

The young outside centre had a superb second half cameo out of position on the wing. He excelled in attack and got himself on the end of one of Ross Byrne’s splintering kicks. Edwards-Giraud was full of praise for his fly half after the game. “He’s an unbelievable player, you know what you’re getting with him regardless of where you are on the pitch you know he will find you. He will make something out of nothing.”

Edwards-Giraud has played superbly so far this season, tonight and in the preseason games, and if this form keeps up and looking forward to Bristol Bears this year it could really be a breakthrough season for another Gloucester backline superstar.