Gloucester 38-31 Leicester Tigers: Gloucester Player Ratings from a classic Slater Cup encounter.

It was a strong start for the visitors who opened the scoring nine minutes in. Tigers capitalised on some defensive infringement from the home side which allowed Izaia Perese an easy score after a well worked backs move created an overlap. Fly half Handre Pollard converted with an easy chip.

It only took four minutes for the hosts to equalise, much to the joy of the Kingsholm faithful, when Tomos Williams dove under the posts after a superb line break from Max Llewellyn put Tigers full back Mike Brown in a precarious position. Santi Carreras was successful with his first kick of the afternoon which levelled up the score.

The visitors took back the lead in the 20^th minute when Pollard’s looping pass was collected by Brown and the full back found himself with nothing but grass ahead of him. Pollard got the extras once more putting Leicester up 14-7 halfway through the first half. Gloucester thought they’d got their second try of the match less than two minutes after but referee Ben O’Keefe ruled out Christian Wade’s score for being offside at the kick.

Gloucester managed to level the score on the half hour mark when Carreras acrobatically dove over the try line after some quick breakdown play by scrum half Williams prevented the Tigers defence from regaining their shape. Carreras added the extras levelling the score 14-14 with ten minutes to go in the first half.

Tigers put themselves back in front just before the break when Brown intercepted a loose pass from Gareth Anscombe and ran almost the length of the pitch before offloading to Tigers new signing Adam Radwan for another score under the posts. Pollard once more got the extras restoring Tiger’s seven point lead.

A penalty on the stroke of half time was converted by Carreras reducing Gloucester’s deficit to four points as the teams went in for the break.

Leicester started the second half off as strongly as they finished the first, it took only three minutes for Harry Wells to secure the visitors' try bonus point. Wells outmuscled the defensive line of Gloucester and after some deliberation he was awarded the try by O’Keefe. Pollard once more got the extras increasing Leicester’s lead to eleven.

Gloucester got themselves back into the game shortly after when Jack Clement powered through in the 53^rd minute out working his tackler to make an extra few yards and lunge for the line. Carreras maintained his 100% record from the tee this afternoon putting the score at 24-28.

The noise of the crowd clearly motivated the Gloucester team this afternoon when four minutes later they took the lead for the first time in the game. Chris Harris caught the defence sleeping and jogged over for Gloucester’s fourth of the evening. Carreras got the extras once more which gave the Cherry and White’s a three point lead.

The momentum swung further in Gloucester’s Favour when Perese was sin binned for a high tackle. The Cherry and White’s made quick work of the man advantage when a driving maul pushed Seb Blake over the line on the hour mark increasing Gloucester’s lead. Carreras maintained perfection from the tee increasing Gloucester’s lead 38-28.

Leicester reduced the deficit to seven with just two minutes remaining when Pollard kicked through a penalty to put the score at 38-31.

Tries: 5 ( Williams 13’, Carreras 29’, Clement 53’, Harris 57’, Blake 60’)

Conversions: 5 ( Carreras 13’ 30’ 53’ 58’ 61’)

Penalties: 1 (Carreras 40’)

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 0

15. Santi Carreras 14. Christian Wade (59’) 13. Chris Harris 12. Seb Atkinson 11. Max Llewellyn 10. Gareth Anscombe 9. Tomos Williams 1. Mayco Vivas (40’) 2. Seb Blake (67’) 3. Kirill Gotovtsev (67’) 4. Freddie Thomas 5. Cam Jordan (67’) 6. Jack Clement 7. Lewis Ludlow (captain) 8. Ruan Ackermann

16. Jack Singleton (67’) 17. Val Rapava-Ruskin (40’) 18. Ciaran Knight (67’) 19. Freddie Clarke (67’) 20. Albert Tuisue (78’)21. Caolan Englefield 22. Charlie Atkinson 23. Josh Hathaway (59’)

Tries: 4 ( Perese 9’, Brown 20’, Radwan 39’, Wells 43’)

Conversions: 4 ( Pollard 9’ 20’ 39’ 43’)

Penalties: 1 (Pollard 78’)

Yellow cards: 1 (Perese 59’)

Red cards: 0

15. Mike Brown (78’) 14. Adam Radwan 13. Izaia Perese 12. Solome Kata (70’) 11. Ollie Hassell-Collins 10. Handré Pollard 9. Ben Youngs (71’) 1. Nicky Smith (70’) 2. Julián Montoya (captain) (73’) 3. Dan Cole (65’) 4. Cameron Henderson 5. Harry Wells (70’) 6. Hanro Liebenberg 7. Tommy Reffell 8. Olly Cracknell (58’)

16. Charlie Clare (73’) 17. James Cronin (70’) 18. Will Hurd (65’) 19. Côme Joussain (70’) 20. Emeka Ilione (58’) 21. Tom Whiteley (71’) 22. Joseph Woodward (70’) 23. Ben Volavola (78’)

2. Seb Blake- 8/10 – Blake is quickly asserting himself as Gloucester’s best option at hooker. Strong at the breakdown and solid at the set piece, Blake had a very good afternoon. Got himself on the score sheet too to add to his tally for the season.

3. Kirill Gotovtsev- 6/10 – Gotovtsev was beaten in the scrum a couple times by Nicky Smith but a strong defensive performance from the tight head prop and multiple crunching tackles meant he had a good game overall. He has stepped up massively for the Cherry and White’s after Afo Fasogbon’s injury.

4. Freddie Thomas- 8/10 – What a player this lad is. Recently called up for the Wales squad and its clear to see why, already calling the lineouts at Gloucester, turned the ball over a few times this afternoon and some strong carries really pushed Leicester back. The ceiling is so high for Thomas.

5. Cam Jordan- 5/10 – Apart from a costly knock on in the first half Jordan had a good game, was prevalent at the breakdown and set piece and had a good afternoon.

6. Jack Clement- 7/10 – Got himself on the score sheet through a showing of immense strength but it was a quieter afternoon than we’re use too for Clement. It’s a testament to his form this season that a game like this is considered “quiet” for him.

7. Lewis Ludlow- 6/10 – The Gloucester captain had a good game round the breakdown, turned over a couple of rucks and was strong in the tackles. Another good game by the skipper as his side move into the top 4.

8. Ruan Ackermann- 7/10 – Ackermann was a menace at the breakdown and got the important final turn over to end the game. Solid in both attack and defence he was a stound out in this talented Gloucester pack this afternoon.

9. Tomos Williams- 8/10 – Easily the signing of the season, the Welshman has been instrumental for Gloucester’s success this season. He has turned around this Gloucester team and today was no exception. Got himself on the score sheet and assisted another, Williams was superb this afternoon.

10. Gareth Anscombe- 4/10 – Anscombe was quiet this afternoon, outshone by Carreras in Gloucester’s attack and was at fault for Leicester’s third try. A poor afternoon for the Welshman at Kingsholm.

11. Max Llewellyn- 7/10 – Llewellyn has continued is excellent run of form for this season even with his admission from the Welsh squad. Assisted Gloucester’s first try and was solid on the ball, consistently getting the better of his opposite number.

12. Seb Atkinson- 6/10 – The young centre was quite sloppy on the ball sometimes appearing lost and running sideways. Defensively however superb, made many important tackles including one right at the end thwarting the Leicester final attack.

13. Chris Harris- 6/10 – The Scotsman led the Gloucester team out for his 100^th appearance in Cherry and White. He got himself on the scoresheet and was crucial to the second half comeback for Gloucester.

14. Christian Wade- 6/10 – Had a try disallowed but was constantly in promising positions. Was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet but did his bit to open up space for his teammates.

15. Santi Carreras- 9/10 – He’s a fan favourite at Kingsholm for a reason and games like today prove why. He got himself on the score sheet, was the catalyst for most of Gloucester’s attacking play and even played on after a nasty collision at the restart in which he took a knee to the back. An almost perfect performance from the Argentine, the best player on the pitch tonight.

16. Jack Singleton- 6/10 – Stepped in well when substituted on, didn’t have as much to do attack wise as Blake but was solid defensively.

17. Val Rapava-Ruskin- 6/10 – Arguably had a better game than Vivas, he was strong in his tackles and put up a better fight against Cole than Vivas did.

18. Ciaran Knight- 5/10 – Was beaten by Nicky Smith in the only scrum they faced each other. Had a decent performance in the just over ten minutes he played.

19. Freddie Clarke- 5/10 – Was solid in the short cameo he had, stepped in well and is a leader in this Gloucester team.

20. Albert Tuisue- N/A

21. Caolan Englefield- N/A

22. Charlie Atkinson- N/A

23. Josh Hathaway- 5/10 – Gloucester electric young winger was flashy in his attack but a few missed tackles gave Ollie Hassell-Collins chances to break the line. He’s young and improving and will turn into a superb player.