Gloucester Rugby trailed 7-9 after a frustrating first 40 minutes at Kingsholm, but delighted the home crowd with a barnstorming second half to clinch a bonus point 29-15 Gallagher Premiership win over local rivals Bath Rugby on Saturday.

There’s no sweeter victory than one over your biggest rivals, and this one was achieved over a very strong Bath side. But this was certainly a game of two halves!

After an ideal start, Jason Woodward forcing his way over for a fourth minute try after a fine break from Franco Mostert, the rest of the half was a frustrating one for the Cherry and Whites as possession was lost on a frequent basis.

Bath, on the other hand, took the points when they were on offer and three penalties from Rhys Priestland gave the visitors a 7-9 lead at half time.

However, the momentum changed at the start of the second half and Gloucester Rugby, backed by a vociferous home crowd, started to tick over nicely.

Freddie Clarke powered his way over from close range to give Gloucester Rugby a narrow 12-9 lead, but Priestland promptly levelled the scores with his fourth penalty straight after the restart and then nudged Bath in front 12-15 with his fifth after 55 minutes.

Jake Polledri chose that moment to demonstrate how powerful he can be with ball in hand, as his burst led to Gerbrandt Grobler crashing over and, two minutes later, Polledri was prominent against as Ruan Ackermann scored the bonus point try.

At 26-15, Gloucester Rugby had taken the game by the scruff of the neck and, although Bath threatened sporadically, the home defence was determined to keep its line intact and the only further score was a 77^th minute penalty from Billy Twelvetrees to make the final score 29-15.

The win takes Gloucester Rugby back up to third place in the Gallagher Premiership table, and nicely sets up next weekend’s European home fixture against Montpellier and, it goes without saying, sent their supporters home in good spirits.

Strong second-half propels Gloucester Rugby to derby win over Bath Rugby

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