Bristol Bears 53-12 Gloucester: Fitz Harding directs a demolition derby

Gloucester ……………………12pts

Tries: Barton 10, Gwynne 40

Conversion: Barton 40

 

Bristol Bears breathed life back into their faltering Premiership campaign with a record victory over West Country rivals Gloucester, whose abysmal season continues.

Pat Lam‘s side are, realistically, the only team who can disrupt the existing top four to reach the play-offs and to achieve that they will need to consistently replicate the best parts of this seven-try demolition.

Despite the scoreline, the Bears were only sporadically at their vintage best, but those periods of excellence swamped an aimless and rudderless Gloucester, whose season has lurched from one nadir to another in depressing fashion.

Remarkably, they could still claim a Champions Cup place for next season, which tells you much about the skewed make-up of that declining competition.

Modus operandi

Gloucester are a million miles away – and then some – from being a champion side at present.

Chris Boyd, who arrived from New Zealand in midweek to touch base ahead of his appointment as technical director next season, looked on impassively.

He managed to kickstart Saints into action a few years ago, but the raw material available at Saints was infinitely better.

This will be a much bigger task, but no better man. Gloucester need to totally buy into his modus operandi.

Bristol, after badly losing form this side of the Six Nations, needed a fast start to restore confidence and that’s what they got with five first-half tries and a try bonus on 32 minutes.

The opener from Kieran Marmion came off an impressive 22-phase passage of play, although there seemed at least one and possibly two knock-ons that went unchecked.

What the officials did pick up was a clumsy high hit from Gloucester hooker Seb Blake, whose yellow card rubbed salt into the wound.

It was a start that rather set the tone for the evening.

Quick-fire: Kalaveti Ravouvou scores Bristol Bears’ second try

PICTURES: Getty Images

Worthy MOM

Gloucester did stir themselves briefly with a try from George Barton, but thereafter it was all Bristol, with tries coming whenever they dabbed the accelerator.

Fiji try machine Kalaveti Ravouvou crossed for a quick-fire brace inside four minutes before the try bonus was delivered by skipper Fitz Harding, a worthy MOM on the night.

Harding is a high-quality Test class player, definitely good enough to force his way even into England‘s back row reckoning.

Steve Borthwick will certainly need him in the squad for their busy summer and autumn commitments.

After Bristol added a penalty try, Gloucester did show a flicker of resistance on half-time with a try for promising young Welsh flanker Deian Gwynne, but in a low-key second half, Bristol kept ticking over gently.

Charge: Bristol Bears’ George Kloska on the attack

Momentum

The hard-working Tom Jordan was rewarded with a try and Gabriel Oghre scored from a line-out rumble.

There was little excitement to report, with Jordan finishing off with a couple of penalties as Bristol decided to flex their muscle no more.

Much bigger challenges lie ahead if they are to make something of their patchy season.

They have the players and talent, but now they need to build momentum. No more sloppy games, and it could still happen.