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| Gloucester 17 - Bath 18 |
This was definitely not one of the prettiest West Country derbies as Bath travelled to Kingsholm Park to meet their old adversaries, Gloucester. And it was one that saw referee Tim Wigglesworth running the show and emptying his pocket of cards in the last ten minutes. So how did this game warrant two reds and five yellows?
Gloucester's
composure looked strong early on but their lack of control and
handling errors saw the Cherry and Whites scrambling for possession
and they were fortunate when a Bath try, by Horacio Agulla, was
disallowed for obstruction as he ripped through the Gloucester
defence.
Then
came the first of many cards to leave Mr Wigglesworth's pocket. It
was initially Carl Fearns who was yellow carded for being off his
feet, flying in and flailing like a flounder on a pile of others,
over the ball. On his return to the pitch, Matt Garvey was the next
to come off after a high tackle on Gareth Evans.
To
be clear, it was an unexciting and abysmal first half with a narrow
lead for the hosts at half-time, 9-6.
Back
on the pitch and it was Bath who showed promise when they did have
possession, but the whistle kept blowing and play kept stopping. The
frustration was palpable for both players and fans alike.
A
fair red card, however, was shown to prop Sila Puafisi for a
ridiculously high and dangerous tackle. Damaging for Gloucester
being down to fourteen men, there was ample opportunity for Bath to
score; and they did. A driving maul took captain Stuart Hooper
quickly over the line.
With
Gloucester minus a prop, play was reduced to uncontested scrums, This
definitely took momentum out of the game and in my opinion play now
seemed more like League with neither side able to showcase any real
phases of play.
Dave
Attwood was then binned with fourteen minutes to go – the third
Bath player to be yellow carded in one game. An unusual sight you
might think, but little did we know there were more to come!
Bath
were deflated in defence and with ten minutes to go, it was Henry
Trinder who ran a fabulous line to extend Gloucester’s lead.
But
the cards kept flying as the limelight shone on the man in the
middle. Next to be binned was Gloucester’s Mike Tindall, followed
by Huia Edmonds and all in under a minute! And the bench was
creaking. Considering they were down to 11 men, Gloucester's defence
was surprisingly solid in the last five minutes with six defending on
their own try line. But it was a penalty try in the 79th minute that
finally earned Bath a controversial victory over their West Country
rivals in this bitter match that will be remembered for all the wrong
reasons.
Before
the conversion could be taken, frustrations erupted like Mount Etna
and the second red card was ‘awarded’ to Gloucester’s Tavis
Knoyles, who believing his head was trodden on deliberately, took
three steps and threw three punches at Leroy Houston. A mass brawl
ensued and it was not only disgraceful and upsetting - it was
unbelievable. The game had truly spiraled out of control.
It
was absolutely extraordinary. Never have I seen a game turn from
being fairly pedestrian and composed to painfully disjointed and
brawling in the last ten minutes, so much so, I couldn't watch for
fear of what would happen next. In the back of my mind I kept
thinking, 'surely not another card?' But thankfully not, as the game
drew to a fiery and embarrassing close.
FT
17-18
The
Aviva Premiership ‘Man of the Match’ went to Stuart Hooper and
rightly so. A man of strength and character, who under such
enormous pressure, kept his composure and led his team to a one point
victory.
After
the game he said, '...It was incredible wasn't it? I couldn't keep up
with who was going off and who was coming on...'
But
from a technical perspective my MOTM was Nick Abendanon.
He
demonstrated fabulous flare on several occasions. For example, in
defence he looped to cover the extensive Gloucester overlap, managing
to shut down their attack. Similarly on the attack, looping to
create depth and open up the wing, which again shows his versatility.
If
Gloucester want to be regarded as a respected team within the
Premiership, then they will need to analyse and correct their
self-discipline. Credit to Bath who dug deep to take away the win and
a job well done in extraordinary and challenging circumstances.
But
in the wake of the disgraceful scenes at the end - what are the
ramifications? Much will now be scrutinised. The ugly brawl. The
bottle that was thrown at the referee after the match; and the rule
regarding uncontested scrums. Then there’s the inconsistency of
refereeing decisions which can totally ruin a game. But
self-discipline and respect must remain key elements of rugby, if it
is not to fall into disrepute.
On
a different note, the top four positions are starting to appear a
little more cemented and as the play-off stages loom, it'll be Bath
looking to secure a place in the Aviva Premiership Final.