Gloucester thump Tigers, Quins beat Falcons
PREMIERSHIP FRIDAY WRAP: Ollie Thorley’s mesmeric late score helped Gloucester return to the Premiership action in style with a record 36-13 win against Leicester Tigers at Kingsholm.
In Friday's other game, Alex Dombrandt and Francis Saili scored tries in each half as Harlequins overcame a stubborn Newcastle Falcons 20-7 at the Stoop.
Gloucester 36-13 Leicester Tigers
These two are no strangers to classic matches and they were up to their tricks again, Jason Woodward, Matt Banhan and Fraser Balmain helping the hosts to a half-time lead.
Ollie Thorley secured the bonus point after the break but Leicester were not done there, Mike Williams giving them a sniff as he crossed 15 minutes into the second half.
But with two minutes to go came the moment of the match, Thorley executing a magnificent late score in a move that started from within five minutes of Gloucester’s own try line.
It took just three minutes for the hosts to get on the board, the boot of the returning Danny Cipriani putting them 3-0 ahead, though Joe Ford responded in kind.
Then Gloucester profited from an overlap on the left to allow Woodward to scamper through, profiting from a lovely break from Mark Atkinson to get his side off and running.
Five minutes later and they had a second score, excellent hands and running seeing Banahan make the most of the backs’ efforts to crash over in the corner.
By then Ford had narrowed the gap but Balmain ensured the Gloucester lead was healthy at the break, picking up his side’s third try when burrowing over from close range.
The second half saw Gloucester start where they left off, Thorley getting his first try of the evening when speeding through a gap after Cipriani’s pass.
Leicester then enjoyed their best period of the match, rewarded with Williams’ try as he powered the ball over following a maul.
But the very best of the match was saved until last and Thorley’s brilliance – as Gloucester racked up a record victory over Tigers at Kingsholm.
Gloucester turned the ball over five metres from their own line, with Ben Morgan keeping it alive before the ball came to Thorley.
The winger ran from well inside his own half – weaving in and out of Leicester defenders before turning on the afterburners to cross and wrap up a magnificent win for his side.
The scorers:
For Gloucester:
Tries: Woodward, Banahan, Balmain, Thorley 2
Cons: Cipriani 3, Twelvetrees
Pen: Cipriani
For Leicester Tigers:
Try: Williams
Con: Ford
Pens: Ford 2
Teams:
Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Matt Banahan, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Willi Heinz, 8 Freddie Clarke, 7 Jaco Kriel, 6 Gareth Evans, 5 Ed Slater (captain), 4 Tom Savage, 3 Fraser Balmain; 2 James Hanson, 1 Josh Hohneck.
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Val Rapava Ruskin, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Gerbrandt Grobler, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Henry Trinder, 23 Tom Hudson.
Leicester: 15 George Worth, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Gareth Owen, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jordan Olowofela, 10 Joe Ford, 9 Ben White, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (captain), 1 Greg Bateman.
Replacements: 16 Jake Kerr, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Gaston Cortes, 19 Will Spencer, 20 Mike Fitzgerald, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Tom Hardwick, 23 Matt Smith.
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant Referees: Adam Leal & Wayne Falla.
TMO: Geoff Warren.
Harlequins 20-7 Newcastle Falcons
Flanker Alex Dombrandt scored from an interception late in the first half, while Marcus Smith chipped in with a penalty and conversion.
Replacement Francis Saili finished off a Joe Marchant break mid-way through the second half, while Andrew Davidson scored the Falcons’ only try minutes after.
However, the north east side remain bottom of the Premiership table, with this their sixth loss of the season.
Harlequins flyhalf Smith got the first points of the night for the home side, kicking a simple penalty from close range.
But the visitors struggled to create going forwards and Toby Flood missed their best chance of points in the first half, leaving a penalty fractionally short.
They paid for it minutes later when flanker Dombrandt picked off a pass in midfield and scampered through unopposed to score under the posts, Smith adding the conversion for a ten-point half-time lead.
Smith was the next to score, booting his second penalty of the match through the posts from 30 metres out.
Wing Nathan Earle and centre Joe Marchant combined superbly down the left, with the latter sidestepping one tackle and bursting for the line.
He was tripped just short but popped up a pass to the supporting Saili and the centre touched down.
That woke the Falcons up and they responded immediately, with lock Davidson scampering through from close range for their first points of the match.
But they could not make further inroads and the hosts held on.
The scorers:
For Harlequins:
Tries: Dombrandt, Saili
Cons: Smith, Lang
Pens: Smith 2
For Newcastle Falcons:
Try: Davidson
Con: Flood
Yellow card: Lewis Boyce (Harlequins, 43)
Teams:
Harlequins: 15 Aaron Morris, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Charlie Mulchrone, 8 James Chisholm (captain), 7 Jack Clifford, 6 Alex Dombrandt, 5 George Merrick, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Will Collier, 2 Elia Elia, 1 Lewis Boyce.
Replacements: 16 Max Crumpton, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Ben Glynn, 20 Dave Ward, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 James Lang, 23 Francis Saili.
Newcastle: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Alex Tait, 13 Pedro Bettencourt, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Joel Hodgson, 9 Michael Young (captain), 8 Callum Chick, 7 John Hardie, 6 Gary Graham, 5 Andrew Davidson, 4 Calum Green, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Sam Lockwood.
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Trevor Davison, 18 David Wilson, 19 Glen Young, 20 Ryan Burrows, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Ben Stevenson.
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant Referees: Michael Hudson & Peter Allan.
TMO: Sean Davey.
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