Gloucester ……..31pts
Tries: Reid 11, Ruskin 31, 58; Clarke 39
Conversions: Hastings 12, 32, 40, 59
Penalties: Hastings 77
Bristol …………….28pts
Tries: Bedlow 24, O'Conor 35, Genge 43, Uren 56
Conversions: Sheedy 25, 36, 44, 57
GLOUCESTER'S Test wings Jonny May and Louis Rees-Zammit are renowned matchwinners, but two players known for their devastating finishing helped Gloucester home by denying Bristol three tries in a closely fought derby.
Pat Lam's decision to take off Tom Whiteley after 32 minutes and bring on Andy Uren at scrumhalf changed the course of a match which had been drifting because of the Bears' inability to hold on to the ball.
Uren sped up the game and Bristol's attack, which had mainly gone sideways, and got on to the front foot. England props Ellis Genge and Kyle Sinckler led the charge and in the first 24 minutes Uren was on the field Bristol scored 21 points to Gloucester's seven.
It should have been more but Uren was twice denied metres out by May, who first tackled him into touch as the scrum-half reached for the line and then hauled him down after an exchange of passes with Sam Lewis. In between, Rees-Zammit tracked back to knock the ball from Dan Thomas's grasp as the flanker approached the line after Charles Piutau's break.
The first half was stopstart before Uren's arrival. Gloucester played in spurts, struggling for once in the line-out and were unable to involve their dangerous back three enough, while Bristol were more of a threat to themselves than their opponents with their inability to hold on to the ball.
Bristol will be without Harry Randall for up to four months after the scrum-half required surgery on a torn hamstring. His replacement Whiteley had one of those afternoons where the more he tried, the more he found it trying. There was a 15-minute spell in the first-half when four Bristol visits to Gloucester's 22 ended in breakdown failure. Whiteley was twice penalised for holding on, going it alone and becoming isolated, summing up his side's individualism.
Bristol were then 14-7 down when Uren came on, Gloucester's tries coming through Jordy Reid after Santiago Carreras's superb 50-22 and Val Rapava-Ruskin who dived over a ruck on Bristol's line.
Sam Bedlow clattered through Adam Hastings for Bristol's opening try to make it 7-7, but the Bears struggled to get the ball away quickly, their line-out was a mess of mistimed jumps and wayward throw-ins and they consequently lacked any fluency.
Pat Lam's decision to bring on Uren paid off immediately.
After Ellis Genge went on one of his trademark bursts, Uren's speed at the ruck and long, flat pass to Piers O'Conor put the centre into space and his footwork took him away from Ben Meehan.
Bristol were level for the second time, but they went into the interval behind after attempts to clear their line were thwarted by the swirling wind. No.8
Ruan Ackermann set up Freddie Clarke from a scrum but Uren's arrival changed the game.
Bristol dominated the second period but they only took two chances, Genge with his fourth try of the campaign and Uren who put them 28-21 ahead.
Gloucester hardly saw the ball but Ruskin claimed his second try, and fourth of the season, to level the scores before Henry Purdy's ruck offence three minutes from time presented Hastings with a 45-metre penalty which he landed to take Gloucester into the top four.
