The Prem

Gloucester (9) 23

Tries: Thomas, Llewellyn Cons: Barton 2 Pens: Barton 3

Bath (5) 5

Try: Tuipulotu

Gloucester stormed to their first win over Bath in the Prem at Kingsholm since April 2022 with a 23-5 victory built on an immense defensive display.

The Cherry and Whites were down to 13 men for a period of the first half but led 9-5 at half-time, having repelled wave after wave of Bath pressure on their tryline.

George Barton then kicked three successive penalties to put the hosts 9-0 up before Kepu Tuipulotu pulled a try back just before the break from a driving maul.

Freddie Thomas scored under the posts to stretch Gloucester’s lead further midway through the second half and Max Llewellyn had Kingsholm raucous when he rolled over with two minutes to go for a famous victory that reaffirms their status as league leaders.

This was Gloucester’s first victory over their oldest rivals since their 64-0 thrashing of Bath more than four and a half years earlier, months before Johann van Graan took over at The Rec and transformed the Bath team.

After an impressive draw against holders Bordeaux in the Champions Cup seven days earlier, George Skivington said this was the Cherry and Whites’ biggest game of the season and their performance showed it is no fluke that they lead the Prem at this early stage of the campaign, even with captain Dewi Lake and centre Seb Atkinson absent through injury.

For Bath, it is a third defeat in a row in all competitions, which was compounded by the losses of full-back Santiago Carreras and flanker Guy Pepper to injuries.

For a chunk of the first half, Gloucester were all but penned by their own tryline, with Bath enjoying 97% possession at one point for 10 minutes, but they could not find a way through.

Tuipulotu was held up over the line and the TMO three times intervened to scratch off Bath tries; once as Tuipulotu made a double movement, the second when Prem debutant Tyler Offiah hit touch before passing to Louie Hennessey and again when Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi dropped the ball over the line.

The penalties were simultaneously mounting against Gloucester, with Ollie Thorley and Ciaran Knight both sent to the sin-bin for repeated infringements – but they stood up to the fight, making 113 first-half tackles while their fans cheered any turnover as if they had scored.

When Gloucester did seize possession, they kicked downfield and won successive penalties of their own, with Barton coolly stepping up to the tee to slot all three over.

Tuipulotu finally got his try late in the first half but it would be the only points Bath would score all night.

The Bath hooker was held up on the line again early in the second half and even when Gloucester had Will Joseph yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on, Bath could not capitalise, with the hosts again the ones to score.

They kicked to the corner with their first bit of possession in Bath’s 22 during the half and after the maul drove forward, Thomas barged through and stretched over.

Llewellyn then added the finishing touches in the closing stages, while a Finn Russell mis-kick to touch summed up Bath’s night.

Gloucester: Barton; Thorley, Joseph, Llewellyn, W Knight; C Atkinson, Englefield; Rapava Ruskin, Blake, C Knight, Kleyn, Clark, Thomas, Morgan (capt), Clement.

Replacements: Innard, Bleuler, Fasogbon, Trenholm, Ludlow, Robson, M Knight, Redshaw.

Sin-bin: Thorley (21), C Knight (28), Joseph (46).

Bath: Carreras; Hennessey, Lawrence, Redpath, Offiah; Russell, Spencer (capt); Obano, Tuipulotu, Griffin, Opoku-Gyamfi, Ewels, Bayliss, Pepper, Reid.

Replacements: Frost, Kirk, Verden, Molony, Hill, Carr-Smith, Donoghue, Green.

Referee: Christophe Ridley.