Gloucester 53-28 Bristol Bears: Cherry and Whites stun West Country rivals in style
03/30/2025 06:23 AM
Nine tries from Gloucester saw them dismantle Bristol to do the double in the West country derby.It was a dream start for Gloucester with a pair of tries through Christian Wade and Josh Hathaway within the first ten minutes.
Charlie Atkinson set up the first when he broke through the Bristol defensive line before a chip from Santi Carreras allowed Wade to show his superb speed for the first score. The second try came from some magic through Carreras with a dazzling pass to Hathway setting the Welshman up with an easy score. Both conversions were missed from Carreras, however.
It only took another five minutes for the host to get their third try of the evening when Seb Atkinson powered through multiple tackles to set up an easy score for his centre partner Chris Harris under the posts. Carreras got his first kick of the game which gave the hosts a 17-0 lead with only 15 minutes played.
Atkinson turned assist to score in the 18th minute when a dazzling display of fluid rugby resulted in Gloucester's bonus point try with the inside centre receiving a beautiful pass off of his scrum half for an easy put down. Charlie Atkinson took over kicking duty from Carreras and converted with his first attempt off of the tee.
Bristol finally got themselves on the score sheet when Harry Randall exposed the space around the ruck to set up his captain Fitz Harding who scored under the posts. Harry Byrne converted his first kick of the night reducing the Bears deficit to 24-7.
The momentum had seemingly swung in The Bears' favour when James Williams dove over the line 28 minutes in after some stunning support lines from the Bristol backline. Byrne converted again which meant Bristol only trailed by ten points with just over ten minutes left of the first half.
Gloucester bounced back instantly however when a tantalising run from Hathaway opened up a two on one against Rich Lane and Atkinson walked over for his second try of the match. Charlie Atkinson's conversion attempt bounced the wrong side off the post.
The first half was certainly one for the ages when Bristol scored the 8th try of the half through tighthead Max Lahiff. A lack of discipline from Gloucester provided Bristol with a tap and go five metres out and a flurry of strong carries resulted in Lahiff outmuscling the Gloucester defence.
The first half was rounded off with a second try from Christian Wade. It was Gloucester's turn to show their physical prowess with a string of strong carries which created an overlap and a looping pass from Carreras found the winger with no one around to stop him.
HALFTIME: GLOUCESTER 34 – 21 BRISTOL BEARS
Gloucester started the second half just as they did the first, two tries within ten minutes. Atkinson got his third try of the match when a lovely pass from Williams skipped past three Bristol defenders and set the inside centre up with nothing but green grass ahead. This was shortly followed when Wade chased his own kick and outpaced Lane for his third of the game. Kicking duties had been passed over to Williams who slotted through both attempts which put Gloucester up 48-21.
Gloucester got their 9th try of the game 51 minutes in when Atkinson carried to the line superbly to put replacement George Barton through with his first touch of the game. Williams missed the conversion.
Bristol got off the mark for the second half in the 63rd minute when Williams broke the tackle of Barton to power through from five metres out which gave The Bears a try bonus point. AJ MacGinty converted his first attempt of the night which put the score at 53-28 with just over 15 minutes left to play.
Attendance – 16,115
POTM – Seb Atkinson
Gloucester Rugby
Tries: 9 ( Wade 5' 40' 47', Hathaway 9', Harris 15', S. Atkinson 18' 31' 43', Barton 52')
Conversions: 4 ( Carreras 15', C. Atkinson 18', Williams 44' 47')
Penalties: 0
Yellow cards: 0
Red cards: 0
15. Santi Carreras 14. Christian Wade 13. Chris Harris 12. Seb Atkinson (74') 11. Josh Hathaway (47') 10. Charlie Atkinson (68') 9. Tomos Williams 1. Val Rapava-Ruskin (59') 2. Jack Singleton (52') 3. Afo Fasogbon (52') 4. Freddie Clarke (59') 5. Freddie Thomas 6. Jack Clement 7. Lewis Ludlow (c) 8. Ruan Ackermann (73')
Replacements
16. Seb Blake (52') 17. Ciaran Knight (59') 18. Kirill Gotovtsev (52') 19. Cam Jordan (59') 20. Harry Taylor ( 73') 21. Caolon Englefield (68') 22. Will Butler (74') 23. George Barton (47')
Bristol Bears
Tries: 4 ( Harding 20', Williams 28' 63', Lahiff 36')
Conversions: 4 (Byrne 21' 28' 37', MacGinty 64')
Penalties: 0
Yellow cards: 0
Red cards: 0
15. Rich Lane 14. Jack Bates 13. Bernhard Jense Van Rensburg 12. James Williams 11. Kalaveti Ravouvou (64') 10. Harry Bryne (47') 9. Harry Randall (69') 1. Ellis Genge (50') 2. Gabriel Oghre (50') 3. Max Lahiff (64') 4. James Dun 5. Paddy Pearce (59') 6. Steven Luatua 7. Fitz Harding (c) (66') 8. Viliame Mata
Replacements
16. Harry Thacker (50') 17. Jake Woolmore (50') 18. Jimmy Halliwell (64') 19. Benjamin Grondona (66') 20. Jake Heenan (59') 21. Kieron Marmion ( 69') 22. AJ MacGinty (47') 23. Siva Naulago (64')
Gloucester Player Ratings
1. Val Rapava-Ruskin – 6/10 – The loosehead prop scrummaged well and carried hard; he was unlucky not to get himself onto the scoresheet.
2. Jack Singleton – 5/10 – Singleton had a quieter evening than his prop pairing but the hooker was solid on his lineout throws and was strong around the breakdown
3. Afo Fasogbon – 6/10 – He's had a solid return the past couple of weeks after a nasty injury. He's not had an easy welcome back however facing off against Thomas Du Toit last week and Ellis Genge this evening but he held his own well.
4. Freddie Clarke – 5/10 – Clarke ran some solid lines throughout but a couple of breakdown infringements gave Bristol some good penalty positions, however.
5. Freddie Thomas – 6/10 – He has had a breakthrough season for the Cherry and Whites and is quickly becoming one of the leagues best locks. He controlled the lineout well today and seemed to win every contact battle he was a part of.
6. Jack Clement – 6/10 – Clement has had a superb season and tonight was no exception to that, he seemed to hit every breakdown and a few good carries over the gain line put Gloucester in good attacking positions.
7. Lewis Ludlow (c) – 6/10 – Ludlow led from the front all game, he put himself in positions to offer great support lines and was a menace around the breakdown.
8. Ruan Ackermann – 7/10 – Ackermann was the strongest of the Gloucester back row tonight, he made metres off of every carry and his defensive line speed was superb.
9. Tomos Williams – 8/10 – Williams was dynamite throughout, he set up play well and found space for himself to create a couple and get himself on the scoresheet. He's come back from the six nations in fine form.
10. Charlie Atkinson – 7/10 – Atkinson stepped up well today in the absence of Gareth Anscombe he controlled tempo well and his last minute passes set up some superb line breaks from his teammates.
11. Josh Hathaway – 7/10 – Hathaway was unlucky to go off with injury just after halftime as it seemed certain he'd get himself on the scoresheet at least once more. His attacking play is outstanding and he ran some superb lines.
12. Seb Atkinson – 9.5/10 – He was electric this evening. A pair of tries, an assist for another and a workhorse in defence, and that was just in the first half. He has had a superb season and his performance tonight may be his best so far. A cracking young player who shouldn't be too far off of Steve Borthwick's England squad.
13. Chris Harris – 8/10 – He is one of the best defensive outside centres in the world but today his attacking skill shone. Much like his centre partner, Harris was a standout this evening, he constantly got the better of his opponents and set up many strong passages of play.
14. Christian Wade – 9.5/10 – Wade was almost perfect this evening, a hattrick within 50 minutes is every wingers dream, he was fluid in attack and was a workhorse in defence hitting every ruck which came down his touchline.
15. Santi Carreras – 8/10 – It's rare Carreras isn't the best player on the pitch but tonight his Gloucester teammates found a new gear. He was still the catalyst in Gloucester's attacking play however and even when he went down with an early knock he didn't slow up, finding holes in the defence and making metres throughout.
Replacements – 8/10 – The Gloucester bench kept the fluid rugby going right until the final whistle, George Barton got himself on the score sheet and Will Butler almost got himself his first try in cherry and white. There was definitely not a step down in quality or tempo from the Gloucester bench.
Talking Points
Free flowing Gloucester
It's been a new style of rugby for Gloucester this season. George Skivington has introduced a fast structureless style of play which is electric to watch and is producing the results. A nine try special from the Cherry and Whites tonight showed the reward of all the hard work put in to learn and perfect this style of play.
Gloucester do the double
The win tonight meant that Gloucester have done the double in the west country derby this season the first time since 2017. The Cherry and Whites have put themselves in strong playoff contention with four rounds left of the Premiership.
Super Seb Atkinson
The centre had an outstanding game, got a hattrick within 50 minutes and was superb throughout. He put in his best performance of the season with England head coach Steve Borthwick in attendance and is surely on the radar for an England call up soon.
Free flowing rugby attracts the crowds
It is clear that high scoring fast paced games are the games that draw in the biggest crowds. Nine tries from Gloucester tonight in front of a sold out Kingsholm promises to bring back many of the young fans who will have gone to the ground tonight.
Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam spoke on how this style of play helps grow the game among the youth: "We have a responsibility of attracting people to the game and there was a lot of good skill in there tonight from both sides and that 100% is great for the game."
Gloucester's young guns
There has been an influx of young talent at Kingsholm over the past few seasons but this season especially has seen these young players flourish. One young player who shone today was Charlie Atkinson.
The fly half is held in high regards at Kingsholm and director of rugby George Skivington thinks highly of him. “Very pleased, he did everythinh we asked him to do, it was a game that was well suited to Charlie and in my point of view it will be amazing if Charlie Atkinson is playing well, Gareth Anscombe is playing well and then next year Ross Byrne comes in and plays well".
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