Gloucester 18 - 9 Northampton Saints

By Cherrybomb
November 3 2002

Northampton came to Castle Grim with one thing on their minds on Saturday: "We will be the team to beat Gloucester at Kingsholm this season". And they really did their best to do so. But traditional forward rugby and strong defence showed through for Gloucester as they won 18-9.

I guess the word to sum up the match would be "struggle". It was all about the team that wanted it most, and in front of a shed which was as vocal as it has been all season, Gloucester were that team. There were a lot of loose passes and handling errors, so the teams resorted to forward power and penetration to wear down the opposition. It was never going to be a match of stunning tries, but of discipline and kicking.

The first half was very tight, with both defences stopping any real chances. Possesion was pretty much shared, as were the points when Mercier and Grayson both kicked penalties.

By this stage it was Gloucester with the upper hand, and they made it count with another penalty after a well worked lineout caused a Northampton player to come into the ruck from the side.

It was then Northampton that had the share of the possesion. They kept charging forward, but valiant defence from the Gloucester pack often meant that Northampton ended up going backwards. However, they were penalised and Grayson made no mistake.

That was the last moment that Grayson would enjoy, as he was escorted off the pitch with a dead leg. This didn't hold up the Saints though, as they went in to half time with a 3 point lead after Matt "mouth" Dawson kicked more points.

3 points was never going to win the match, and Gloucester came out as eager as ever to please the sell out crowd. Mercier did just that when he equalised with yet another penalty. The thing is with Gloucester, at Kingsholm anyway, is that even if they are behind at half time you know that their superior fitness will win through in the end.

You can never be setlled in a match run by penalties, and a single try can often put a dominating team behind. The fear of this is what kept the Gloucester players going, even after they scored two more penalties from the boot of Ludo.

Another thing which kept Gloucester playing was the fear of Northampton getting a bonus point. From the performance on Saturday, Northmapton could be our closest challengers this season, and we must starve them of any points.

As the match edged on, Gloucester needed more points to secure the victory. And they came from the boot of Andy Gomarsall. As he collected the ball in his own half, there were cries from the shed of "give it to Garvey". However, Andy looked up and in an instant shot the ball like a cannonball between the posts, to the delight of the fans and the joy of himself. It was a real battle between the two scrum halfs, and both did themselves favours with the England international next week. However, Gommers may have just edged it.

From then on it was all Gloucester, who pinned the Saints back with clever kicking and strong defence. This isn't going to be the last game of this difficulty this season. We have a new problem to face which we are not used to. We are now the team to beat.

Final Score: Gloucester 18-9 Northampton Saints