Gloucester overpowered Bath in a defensive masterclass at Kingsholm to walk away with the spoils
It was a quiet opening quarter at Kingsholm with both teams playing some staunch defensive rugby, Bath thought they got the lead early through Kepu Tuipulotu but it was wiped off for double movement.
Ollie Thorley was sent to the sin bin in the 22nd minute after a string of Gloucester defensive infringements on their own try line.
Bath had another try chalked off just 60 seconds later after Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi dropped the ball on the line.
Gloucester were then sent down to 13 men Ciaran Knight was shown yellow for collapsing the maul.
After all that defensive work it was Gloucester who opened the scoring through a George Barton penalty in the 31st minute and then two more five and seven minutes later.
Bath scored on the halftime whistle however through a driving maul and Kepu Tuipulotu got the spoils.
HALF-TIME: GLOUCESTER RUGBY: 9-5 BATH RUGBY
Gloucester were back down to 14 men after Will Joseph's yellow card for a deliberate knock on but this didn't affect the Cherry and Whites as Freddie Thomas got their first try of the match in the 53rd minute.
Gloucester sealed the deal in the 78th minute as Max Llewellyn dove over to put the game to bed.
FULL-TIME: GLOUCESTER RUGBY 23 - 5 BATH RUGBY
ATTENDANCE - 16,115 ( SELL OUT)
Referee - Christophe Ridley
ASSISTANT REFEREES - George Selwood & Jamie Parr
Scroll down for our Gloucester vs Bath player ratings.
Who was your player of the match?
Gloucester Rugby player ratings
- Val Rapava-Ruskin – 6/10
- Seb Blake – 6/10
- Ciaran Knight – 4/10
- Jean Kleyn – 7/10
- Arthur Clark – 7/10
- Freddie Thomas – 7/10
- Jac Morgan (c) – 8/10
- Jack Clement – 6/10
- Caolan Englefield – 6/10
- Charlie Atkinson – 7/10
- Will Knight – 7/10
- Max Llewellyn – 8/10
- Will Joseph – 5/10
- Ollie Thorley – 5/10
- George Barton – 9/10
Replacements
- 16. Jack Innard – 6/10
- 17 Dian Bleuler – 6/10
- 18 Afolabi Fasogbon – 6/10
- 19 Will Trenholm – 5/10
- 20 Lewis Ludlow – 5/10
- 21 Dan Robson – 5/10
- 22 Max Knight – N/A
- 23 Ben Redshaw – N/A
Bath Rugby player ratings
- Beno Obano – 5/10
- Kepueli Tuipulotu – 7/10
- Archie Griffin – 6/10
- Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi – 5/10
- Charlie Ewels – 6/10
- Josh Bayliss – 5/10
- Guy Pepper – 6/10
- Miles Reid – 4/10
- Ben Spencer (c) – 7/10
- Finn Russell – 7/10
- Tyler Offiah – 5/10
- Cameron Redpath – 6/10
- Ollie Lawrence – 6/10
- Louie Hennessey – 6/10
- Santi Carreras – 5/10
Replacements
- 16 Dan Frost – 6/10
- 17 Scott Kirk – 5/10
- 18 Kieran Verden – 5/10
- 19 Ross Molony – 6/10
- 20 Ted Hill – 5/10
- 21 Tom Carr-Smith – 5/10
- 22 Ciaran Donoghue – 6/10
- 23 Arthur Green – 5/10
Star player
George Barton – 9/10
To say Barton was good, is an understatement. His defensive efforts helped keep the Gloucester line clear for the first 40 minutes and he got a key turnover just as it looked certain Bath would score.
He then ran 40 metres to completely shift momentum back into Gloucester's favour and then he got three first half penalties to get them in front at the break.
What a couple of weeks for the local lad, he was well up for this match and he took it by the horns.
Biggest flop
Miles Reid – 4/10
It wasn't the worst game ever by the number 8 but he was directly at fault for a pair of infringements, one led to a Gloucester penalty and the other gave Gloucester the field position needed to score.
It was just a bit too sloppy around the park tonight but his attacking work rate was strong.
Future star
Will Knight – 7/10 - A cheeky spin move on Hennessey, a juke on Offiah and a bump on Lawrence, Knight was a powerhouse oh and he also did a behind the back pass to Innard just an attacking wizz on the winger today.
He's a local lad who was clearly up for tonight as although out of position he had a mammoth game.
Match scorers
Gloucester Rugby:
Tries: 2 ( Thomas 53', Llewellyn 78')
Cons: 2(Barton 53' 79')
Pens: 3( Barton 31' 36' 38')
Bath:
Tries: 1 ( Tuipulotu 40' )
Cons:
Pens:
What did you miss from Gloucester vs Bath?
Gloucester's defensive masterclass - What an effort from The Cherry and Whites, in a world where points are in no short supply they kept Bath to just five! Although the visitors did have two tries held up and two more disallowed, five points and a 25 minute defensive set in their own 22 is phenomenal from Gloucester. Those boys clearly want to play for Joel Tomkins as the new Gloucester defence coach has worked wonders.
Gloucester remain top - Another win and a first over Bath in the league since October 2022 Gloucester are well on their way to a playoff appearance, it may be early but the buzz around this club is massive and the whole ground roared tonight. "Castle Grim" as its affectionately called was behind their team the entire way and may well be the reason they kept their try line clear for 40 minutes.
George Barton's class showing - Perfect off of the Tee and exceptional around the park, he has really moulded into an excellent full back. He may be a fly half by trade but he's really grown into a quality full back. He has kept Ben Redshaw out of the starting XV and that is no easy feat, he deserves all the plaudits tonight and he is well and truly sensational.
