Gloucester survive late Bristol fightback in Premiership thriller

Gloucester Rugby withstood a late Bristol Bears revival to prevail narrow 44-41 winners at Ashton Gate.

The Cherry and Whites were pegged back from 41-22 up towards the final quarter of an hour, but George Barton’s late penalty saw the visitors over the line.

Bristol made a flying start with Gabriel Ibitoye crossing after just two minutes, but Gloucester took control of the first half.

Christian Wade went over twice – sandwiching Freddie Thomas and Gareth Anscombe’s efforts – to put the visitors 28-10 to the good, though Siva Naulago cut the deficit before the break.

Harry Randall reduced the arrears further, but Wade’s superb individual try completed his hat-trick and gave Gloucester a 19-point buffer.

Bristol responded through Max Malins’ quickfire brace, and after Wade was sent to the sin bin in the final 10 minutes, Rich Lane drew them level.

However, it all proved academic two minutes from time, when Barton secured bragging rights for George Skivington’s side.

The signs did not look good for Gloucester heading into the West Country derby.

The Cherry and Whites had won just one of their last six Premiership matches, while registering just a single victory from nine previous visits to Ashton Gate.

But they settled after a slow start and gradually gained control of proceedings. Some of their exchanges of play were breathtaking to watch, especially for Thomas’ try.

The right boot of Barton also did the damage. The full-back was successful with all eight of his kicks, including the decisive penalty with two minutes remaining.

Wade is back in England with a bang after six years away. He demonstrated his superb pace and power for all three of his tries, notably racing away unchallenged over 80 metres for the second one.

The winger notched up his record-breaking sixth Premiership hat-trick, and is rapidly closing in on Chris Ashton’s all-time try-scoring record.

Bristol Bears: Malins 8, Naulago 7, Van Rensburg 6, J. Williams 6, Ibitoye 7, MacGinty 8, Randall 7, Genge 6, Oghre 6, Kloska 6, Dun 6, Batley 6, Luatua 6, Heenan 6, Harding 6. Replacements: Lahiff 6, Woolmore 6, Capon 6, Lane 7, Caulfield 6, Marmion 6, Grondona N/A.

Gloucester: Barton 9, Wade 9*, Harris 8, S. Atkinson 7, Llewellyn 6, Anscombe 7, T. Williams 7, Vivas 6, Singleton 6, Gotovtsev 6, Thomas 7, Alemanno 6, Clement 6, Taylor 6, Mercer 6. Replacements: Blake 6, Fasogbon 7, Clarke 6, Ford-Robinson 6, C. Atkinson 6, Ackermann 6, Tuisue 6.

2′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 7-0 GLOUCESTER (IBITOYE): The hosts off to a flying start! Bristol neatly work the lineout and Ibitoye accelerates into the space, neatly slaloming away from challenges before touching down. MacGinty makes no mistake with the conversion.

8′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 7-7 GLOUCESTER (WADE): What a response from the visitors! From their first attack, Gloucester brilliantly work the ball out to the left and Llewellyn neatly links up with Wade, who races away before crossing near the posts. Barton turns five points in seven, and we’re all square.

20′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 7-14 GLOUCESTER (THOMAS): The visitors have turned things around! Thomas, who scored against Saracens last weekend, leads Gloucester’s charge. Following a neat exchange of passes, the lock surges for the line. Barton converts.

24′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 7-21 GLOUCESTER (ANSCOMBE): The Welsh combination works wonders for the visitors! From the breakdown, Williams’ clever chip over the Bristol defence is raced onto by Anscombe, who touches down. Barton remains perfect from the tee.

35′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 10-28 GLOUCESTER (WADE): Bristol push to reduce their arrears, but Malins’ offload is intercepted by the alert Wade. The Gloucester winger subsequently sprints away unchallenged from inside his 22, before diving between the posts. Barton converts five points into seven.

40+2′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 15-28 GLOUCESTER (NAULAGO): The hosts surge for the line and, following a couple of quick offloads, Naulago is completely free on the right wing to cross. MacGinty cannot convert from a tight angle, but Bristol have cut the gap at the break.

51′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 22-31 GLOUCESTER (RANDALL): The hosts maintain their pressure and are eventually rewarded. Retrieving the ball from the breakdown, Randall opts to go himself and just about stretches over the line. MacGinty converts to reduce the deficit to nine points.

63′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 22-41 GLOUCESTER (WADE): Wade completes his hat-trick! The winger chases his own punt down the line, and Bristol cannot deal with the bounce. After Malins fails to retrieve the ball, Wade collects and races towards the posts once more. Barton converts.

66′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 29-41 GLOUCESTER (MALINS): The hosts secure the bonus point as they surge towards the line. Although Bristol are stopped at the posts, Randall offloads to the onrushing Malins, who bursts over. MacGinty wastes no time in reducing the deficit to 12 points from the tee.

70′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 36-41 GLOUCESTER (MALINS): The fightback is well and truly on! The gap is now five points! Gloucester’s defence switches off near their tryline and Bristol have two men over from the breakdown. MacGinty finds one of them in Malins, who dashes for the line. The former quickly converts.

75′ TRY! BRISTOL BEARS 41-41 GLOUCESTER (LANE): The hosts have completed the fightback! They quickly attack from the scrum and attack the space vacated by Wade, with Lane racing for the line in the corner. MacGinty cannot quite convert from a tight angle, with his decent attempt clipping the far post.

78′ PENALTY! BRISTOL BEARS 41-44 GLOUCESTER: The visitors regain the lead from the tee with just over two minutes remaining. Barton makes no mistake once more. Is that the winning kick?

Gloucester claimed only their second victory in 10 visits to Ashton Gate.

Christian Wade scored his record-breaking sixth hat-trick in the Rugby Premiership.