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F. Thomas (53'), M. Llewellyn (78')
Tries
K. Tuipulotu (40')
G. Barton (54', 79')
Conversions
G. Barton (31', 36', 38')
Penalties
This derby said something simple and important: Gloucester Rugby can still throttle a game when the mood at Kingsholm turns serious. They kept a rotated Bath Rugby to five points, lived off field position and discipline at the set piece, and banked every kickable chance. The tries came late; the control was there all night.
Bath’s recent problem – accuracy under pressure – didn’t leave them at the gate. With senior playmakers on the park they had territory and ball, but the handling, the cleanout detail and the red-zone decision-making weren’t sharp enough to turn long spells into points. A five-point return tells you plenty. So does the fact Gloucester played a full half-hour across three yellow cards and still won by 18.
George Skivington called this “the biggest fixture of the year at the ground.” Gloucester leaned into that. They went old Kingsholm: lineout security, a hard-edged maul, kick-to-corners, squeeze penalties, and no romance when three points were on. George Barton took everything Bath offered in that cynical sweet spot before the break and the whole thing changed shape.
Gloucester’s control wasn’t about volume; Bath actually had more of the ball and more carries. But the home side owned the moments that matter. Their lineout was tidy at 11/12, their scrum unbothered, and their defensive line kept Bath’s shape narrow. Bath broke cleanly only twice, a poor return for a backline with Finn Russell and (briefly) Santiago Carreras. Gloucester made 170 tackles and missed fewer than Bath, who fell off 35. The numbers back the feel of it: Bath huffed, Gloucester dictated where the game was played.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAKS
TACKLE
TACKLES MISSED
TURNOVERS WON
PENALTIES CONCEDED
YELLOW CARDS
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
The hinge was right on either side of half-time. Barton’s three penalties in seven minutes established a nine-point rope that Bath couldn’t cut. Kepu Tuipulotu’s score on the hooter gave the visitors a foothold, but when Will Joseph sat down early in the second half, Bath’s chance to squeeze a 14-man Gloucester never arrived. Instead the next significant act was Freddie Thomas over from close range. From there, it felt like the hosts were walking Bath around by the collar.
Selection framed the night. Bath rotated again and lost Carreras after 12 minutes; cohesion and exit quality suffered. Russell was hassled into lateral touches rather than front-foot variation. Bath’s lineout percentage (85%) hides a couple of damaging losses, and their maul never looked like the weapon it has been this autumn. Even when Christophe Ridley binned Gloucester bodies, Bath didn’t bend the gain line repeatedly enough to stress a scrambling defense.
Gloucester’s pack deserved their roar. Jac Morgan was outstanding: 20 tackles, two clean breaks, and 73 metres from 10 abrasive carries – the tone-setter at the breakdown and the thunder in contact. Arthur Clark and Jean Kleyn went to work in the dark places with 20 and 16 tackles respectively, and Gloucester’s maul drew the penalties that fed Barton’s boot. Out the back, Barton was composed and accurate for 13 points and smart in the back-field – 72 metres carried but more importantly, he kept Bath exiting from the corners they least liked.
There was bite and some slop. Gloucester won this by suffocation and pragmatism, but 20 penalties and three cards is an ugly ledger. Against a side with cleaner red-zone mechanics they’d have paid for it. Their attack also left meat on the bone; they had shape to score earlier but the finishing touch didn’t always follow the platform. That mirrors recent frustrations – the difference here was they didn’t chase the perfect picture when three points were staring back.
Bath’s defense, to its credit, kept the hosts to two tries and forced a lot of phases for modest gain. Josh Bayliss and Guy Pepper worked hard for turnovers, and Tuipulotu carried with intent, capping it with the try. But the missed tackle count and the lack of punch off first phase meant Russell and Cameron Redpath were mostly playing off static ball. That’s not the platform this side needs if it’s going to threaten away from the Rec.
Context sharpens the picture. Bath came in top of the table; Gloucester fifth. Skivington’s group treated it like a cup tie and managed it that way. Johann van Graan talked after Montpellier about “a costly combination of inaccuracy and unforced errors” and the same gremlins were visible here – only this time the hosts refused to offer a shootout.
What sticks going forward? For Gloucester, this is a usable template for heavy-weather rugby: reliable set piece, territorial suffocation, and a 15 who keeps the board ticking. Clean up the discipline and sharpen the last pass, and it scales. For Bath, the lesson is blunter. Rotation is fine until the cohesion frays, and you cannot waste possession and numerical advantages in a derby. Get Carreras fit, trim the error count, and rediscover the red-zone edge – because pressure with no product doesn’t travel in this league, least of all at Kingsholm.
