Slowly but surely, Gloucester are gathering strength again as confidence returns along with key personnel from a debilitating injury list.
Senior players such as Mike Tindall and Marco Bortolami remain sidelined and Gloucester’s recent recovery might not be pretty to watch, as Bryan Redpath, the head coach, readily acknowledged after this efficient victory against Newcastle Falcons.
The rally of the past fortnight, however, is also a mark of a club who have at least staunched the bleeding that, for much of October and November, had resulted in six consecutive defeats. This was a second win in three Guinness Premiership games.
Gloucester lost Akapusi Qera, the flanker, on the hour, carried off on a stretcher after a lengthy delay. He needed a hospital check-up in the wake of being knocked unconscious while attempting to tackle Filipo Levi, the Newcastle No 8. Qera, though, was not badly hurt and his absence did allow Luke Narraway to come on for a mightily impressive first half-hour of the season after back surgery.
Nicky Robinson, Alex Brown and Alasdair Dickinson, too, showed up well on their returns from injury, while the availability again after international duty of Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, the powerful centre, and the Scotland trio of Rory Lawson, Scott Lawson and Alasdair Strokosch brought yet more stability.
Advertisement
Newcastle have only themselves to blame for not turning their first-half performance into points, with Jimmy Gopperth blowing one certain try, after a fine midfield break, by failing to spot that Tom Biggs, the wing, had made a brilliant, supporting run. Gopperth took the tackle from the last defender between him and the Gloucester line, and the opportunity was lost.
Gloucester, who had scored an excellent early try, with Charlie Sharples finishing off a concerted attack wide on the right, came out after the break with a renewed focus to play the conditions — by now heavy drizzle — and to frustrate Newcastle into errors.
Robinson, with a string of penalties, took the game away from the visiting team, for whom a well-worked late try by Alex Tait could not even salvage the consolation of a losing bonus point.
Redpath said: “This was a huge win for us following the victory a fortnight ago against Leicester. It might have seemed a bit boring at times, but that doesn’t matter. I am delighted.”
Scorers: Gloucester: Try: Sharples (7min). Conversion: Robinson. Penalty goals: Robinson 5 (35, 47, 52, 56, 80+16). Dropped goal: Robinson (80+5). Newcastle Falcons: Try: Tait (80+12). Conversion: Miller. Penalty goals: Gopperth 2 (14, 21).
Advertisement
Scoring sequence (Gloucester first): 7-0, 7-3, 7-6, 10-6 (half-time), 13-6, 16-6, 19-6, 22-6, 22-13, 25-13.
Gloucester: O Morgan (rep: C Spencer, 80+6); C Sharples, J Simpson-Daniel, E Fuimaono-Sapolu (rep: T Molenaar, 73), L Vainikolo; N Robinson, R Lawson; N Wood (rep: A Dickinson, 80+10), S Lawson, G Somerville (rep: P Doran-Jones, 79), D Attwood, A Brown (rep: A Eustace, 80+13), A Strokosch, A Qera (rep: L Narraway, 59), G Delve.
Newcastle Falcons: C Amesbury; D Williams (rep: A Tait, 48), G Bobo, T Tu’ipulotu, T Biggs; J Gopperth (rep: R Miller, 80+8), H Charlton (rep: C Pilgrim, 77); J Golding (rep: L Ovens, 48), R Vickers (rep: M Thompson, 55; rep: M Ward, 80+1), C Hayman, J Hudson, T Swinson (rep: M Sorenson, 53), J Afu (rep: W Welch, 70), B Wilson, F Levi.
Referee: R Debney.
Attendance: 11,410.