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Finn Russell's Bath silence the Shed with fightback win over Gloucester
By PA
Bath prop Beno Obano scored two tries as his side claimed a thrilling 55-31 West Country derby victory over Gloucester in front of a capacity crowd in the Gallagher Premiership at Kingsholm.
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Bath trailed 24-17 at the interval but they turned the game firmly on its head to run out deserved winners by scoring eight tries to four.
Josh Bayliss, Tom De Glanville, Ollie Lawrence, Jaco Coetzee and Finn Russell were also on the try-scoring sheet with Russell adding five conversions and a penalty, while there was also a penalty try award.
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Max Llewellyn, Tomos Williams, Charlie Atkinson and Ollie Thorley scored Gloucester’s tries as Santiago Carreras converted three and kicked a penalty, with George Barton adding a conversion.
Bath made an explosive start to dominate the opening five minutes and their pressure was rewarded when Obano forced his way over.
However Gloucester’s response was swift to draw level within two minutes. Their first attack saw a sweeping move which culminated in Josh Hathaway sending Llewellyn over.
A simple penalty from Russell put his side back in front before Gloucester missed two golden opportunities for points. Twice they elected not to take straightforward kicks at goal in favour of forward drives but it proved to be the wrong option.
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The hosts had another chance when Seb Atkinson ripped possession from Lawrence to race into the clear but the centre lacked the pace to make it to the try-line.
It mattered little as the hosts soon produced another flowing passage of play, which Williams triumphantly finished off.
Huge derby match at Kingsholm today between Gloucester and Bath 🔥
Finn Russell is back shushing the Shed yet again 😳 #PremRugby #Rugby pic.twitter.com/zbiwqo7J6y
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 12, 2024
Gloucester’s efforts were remarkable as they had been disrupted by head injury assessments (HIA) for Freddie Thomas, Jack Clement and Gareth Anscombe but they were not finished yet as they scored a brilliant third try.
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It began just outside their 25 with Zach Mercer, Ollie Thorley and Williams playing huge parts to create the score for Charlie Atkinson.
Bath needed a reply and they got one with a converted try from Russell but the home side looked to have scored a fourth when they broke out for Williams to cross, but the score was harshly ruled out for Hathaway not allowing Austin Emens to regain his feet.
However there was still time for Carreras to knock over a penalty to give his side a 24-17 lead at the end of a pulsating first half.
Three minutes after the restart, Bath tied the scores with a second try from Obano before being awarded a penalty try after Charlie Atkinson was yellow carded after being adjudged to be offside to prevent a score.
In his absence, the visitors scored a fifth try – their best of the afternoon – when Bayliss outflanked the cover defence.
Charlie Atkinson returned from the sin-bin in time to see De Glanville seize on a loose ball to run 80 metres and seal Gloucester’s fate.
The home side showed spirit to collect their bonus-point try from Thorley but Lawrence and Coetzee had the final say with Bath’s seventh and eighth tries to make it an ugly final score for the hosts.
