Gloucester’s intent at the start of the campaign was to turn Kingsholm into a fortress but they forgot to roll up the welcome mat. Bath, like Leicester and Newcastle before them this season, came from behind here to leave the Shed shedding tears.
David Humphreys, Gloucester’s director of rugby, said the three home defeats, which followed Northampton’s victory here at the end of last season, are unacceptable and he struggled to understand why a dominant performance in the opening half, which was not reflected by the 3-0 interval scoreline, was followed by an alarming collapse against opponents who had a 12-strong injury list.
“The defeat is tough to take,” Gloucester’s Wales flanker, Ross Moriarty, said. “We had them under pressure in the first half when we kept hold of the ball and the forwards were running the right lines. In the second we kept kicking the ball to them and it did not work. If we had continued to retain possession we would have won because they were getting tired but we became conservative and we were not comfortable with that.”
It was Bath’s fourth consecutive league victory at the home of their rivals, crowned by two tries in the final quarter. The first was scored by Anthony Watson on the left wing after he stepped outside Billy Burns and the second gave Matt Banahan, who made up an unfamiliar midfield with Aled Brew, his 49th Premiership try.
“We knew that if we kept hold of the ball and improved our accuracy that the opportunities would come,” Banahan said. “The pitch was heavy, which made running rugby difficult, and it was about getting a foothold. You have to be able to find a way to win and that is what we did.”
The defeat left Gloucester dropping closer to the bottom club Bristol with a trip to Exeter next. Their cause was not helped by a rare off day from the tee for Greig Laidlaw: the Scotland scrum-half had landed 39 of his 40 previous kicks but he missed three out of four, the final two from long range when James Hook, who had landed one from halfway to open the scoring, would have been the better option.
“Greig has been superb for us in the last two years and I am not blaming him,” Humphreys said. “We had other opportunities but made too many errors. We have got to be smarter in finding ways to win a close game like this one. We have changed our style this season and knew there would be ups and downs but we are not turning pressure into points and have to put that right.”
What was significant for Bath was not so much turning over their old rivals as the manner in which they achieved the victory, soaking up pressure, holding their nerve and striking in the final 20 minutes. “It was an arm-wrestle and we toughed it out,” their director of rugby, Todd Blackadder, said. “Both teams were a little frantic and I would say our scrum-half Kahn Fotuali’i was the difference; he managed the game outstandingly.”
Gloucester Hook; Sharples, Twelvetrees, Atkinson (Scott 69), Purdy (Halaifonua 75); Burns (Heinz 64), Laidlaw (capt); McAllister (Y Thomas 54), Hibbard (Dawidiuk 76), Afoa (Doran Jones 64), Savage, Galarza, Moriarty, Rowan (Kvesic 72), Morgan (Latta 76).
Pen Hook, Laidlaw.
Bath Homer; Rokoduguni (Williams 69), Brew, Banahan, Watson; Ford (co-capt), Fotuali’i; Catt (Auterac 59), Dunn (Batty 59), Thomas (Palma-Newport 59), Ewels, Stooke (Attwood 54), Garvey (co-capt), Ellis, Houston (Z Mercer 64).
Tries Watson, Banahan. Con Ford. Drop goal Ford.
Referee JP Doyle. Attendance 16,115.
