'Our big names turned up' - Gloucester end Northampton Saints' impressive home record

Gloucester Rugby director of rugby George Skivington praised his side as they revenged last season's 90-0 mauling at Franklin's Gardens to end Northampton Saints' 17-game winning streak at home with a thrilling 25-17 victory on Saturday which was full of skill and desire.

A second-string Cherry and Whites side had suffered a humiliating 14-try defeat in this fixture at the end of last season, but they ensured there would be no repeat of that sorry showing as they earned their third victory of the Gallagher Premiership season. It meant Northampton’s bid to defend their title took another huge hit as they suffered their first home league defeat since October 2023.

England scrum-half Alex Mitchell was able to make his first appearance of the season after recovering from a neck injury, but his cameo from the bench was not enough to inspire a comeback after the Saints had gone in 22-7 down at the break. Northampton did threaten in the second period, with Juarno Augustus breathing new life into their bid with a try, while Gloucester had replacement hooker Seb Blake sin-binned later on.

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But the Cherry and Whites defence held firm at key moments and Northampton could not click into gear as a Carreras penalty took the hosts out of losing bonus point range. Rory Hutchinson had the chance to salvage something for the Saints but he narrowly missed his penalty with the final kick of the game.

Reflecting on the redemptive win, Skivington said: “I will never forget that match [90-0 defeat] but I’m not sure winning cancels it out. Last year happened and that was painful and we have big scars from that but we are a different team this year. A lot of the young lads who played in that match are now starters for us.

“I’m really pleased but I did think we had a few inaccuracies actually. But the doggedness and fight in the second half was excellent. The attitude in shutting down the best attacking team in the league was the big factor. I’m pleased with how we played in the first half but more pleased with how we shut them down in the second half.

“Santi (Carreras) was outstanding today. He showed his world-class pedigree in this game, scoring tries, slotting kicks and it’s really good to see him back doing that. It was just one of those days where our big names turned up for us, everyone grafted and I’m delighted with the attitude.”

Gloucester had shown their intent from the off, with Argentinian full-back Carreras scoring his first try inside just three minutes, but he missed the conversion.

Northampton lost England fly-half Fin Smith after a head injury assessment early on, but George Furbank, who moved to 10 in his absence, provided a moment of magic to give the hosts something to cheer about, kicking ahead and gathering to score.

However, that did not deter Gloucester, who kept coming, only to be denied by two huge try-saving tackles from George Hendy, who was later forced off due to concussion.

The Saints were stung by an intercept try after 24 minutes though as Tom James saw his pass gathered by Freddie Thomas, with the lock finding number eight Zach Mercer for the try.

Carreras piled on the pain with his second try of the game eight minutes later before slotting a penalty with the final kick of the half to open up a 15-point gap.

Northampton sent on Mitchell early in the second half and they soon scored, with Augustus powering over at the end of a week in which it was announced the number eight will join Ulster next summer.

Gloucester found themselves under huge pressure, and hooker Blake paid the price for killing an attack as he headed to the sin bin. Northampton continued to search for a way back, and they looked to have scored when Tom Litchfield gathered a bouncing Mitchell offload only for the pass to be deemed forward and the try ruled out.

Hutchinson cut the gap to five points with a penalty, but Carreras held his nerve to land a penalty of his own late on. Hutchinson did have one final chance to land a penalty that would have earned the Saints a bonus point, but his effort drifted just wide.

Northampton Saints: 15. George Furbank (c), 14. George Hendy, 13. Tom Litchfield, 12. Rory Hutchinson, 11. Ollie Sleightholme, 10. Fin Smith, 9. Tom James; 1. Tom West, 2. Curtis Langdon, 3. Trevor Davison, 4. Chunya Munga, 5. Alex Coles, 6. Angus Scott-Young, 7. Tom Pearson, 8. Juarno Augustus

Replacements: 16. Craig Wright, 17. Emmanuel Iyogun, 18. Luke Green, 19. Tom Lockett, 20. Henry Pollock, 21. Alex Mitchell, 22. Fraser Dingwall, 23. James Ramm

Gloucester Rugby: 15. Santi Carreras, 14. Christian Wade, 13. Max Llewellyn, 12. Seb Atkinson, 11. Ollie Thorley, 10. Gareth Anscombe, 9. Caolan Englefield; 1. Val Rapava-Ruskin, 2. Jack Singleton, 3. Afo Fasogbon, 4. Arthur Clark, 5. Freddie Thomas, 6. Jack Clement, 7. Lewis Ludlow (c), 8. Zach Mercer

Replacements: 16. Seb Blake, 17. Ciaran Knight, 18. Kirill Gotovtsev, 19. Matias Alemanno, 20. Ruan Ackermann, 21. Charlie Chapman, 22. Chris Harris, 23. Josh Hathaway

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe

Assistant Referees: Joe James & Simon Harding

TMO: Andrew Jackson