A combination of rock solid defending and efficiency in attack saw Gloucester Rugby overcome the Scarlets 31-7 at a rocking Kingsholm on Friday in the third round of pool stage games in the 2024/25 EPCR Challenge Cup

The Cherry and Whites touched down five times through Caolan Englefield, Jack Clement, George Barton, Seb Blake and Christian Wade, with Carreras slotting two conversions and Barton one, but it was the rock solid defence - with Chris Harris at the centre of it - that was the dominant feature of the game. The Welsh visitors unlocked that defence just once through Eddie James, with the try’s creator Ioan Lloyd converting, but were generally left frustrated.

South West rugby writer John Evely takes a closer look at the individual performances from the Gloucester Rugby players….

READ MORE: Ant and Dec’s Limitless Win on ITV to feature West Country couple

READ MORE: Gloucester Rugby 31-7 Scarlets LIVE: Full highlights and reaction from Challenge Cup win

15. George Barton - 7

The full-back scored his first try of the season as he got plenty of touches in attack. He finished his chance well, arcing away from the defence thanks to a brilliant pass from Carreras and the powering through the tackle of Blair Murray to touch down. As a 15 he is slightly lacking in his ability to beat a player one-on-one in contrast to Carreras at the back, but is like another fly-half playmaker on the pitch and he was heavily involved in the tries, gathering Wade’s grubber through in the build-up to the opening score.

14. Christian Wade - 8

The winger wasn’t involved as much as he would have liked, but every time he touched the ball he had a positive impact with some beautifully timed passes and clever kicks, one of which unlocked the Scarlets' defence in the build-up to Englefield darting over. When his moment came to strike late in the game he took it, hacking the loose ball on four times before winning the race to touch it down in the dead ball area. I don’t anyone else on the pitch could have scored it.

13. Chris Harris - 8

The Scottish international veteran had an absolutely dominant day in defence as he showed his worth to the team despite now having a limited attacking game. The dominant tackle on Eddie James late in the game to dislodge the ball and allow Wade to score down the other end of the pitch was the cherry on top of a great display.

12. Max Llewellyn - 6

The Welsh international had a relatively quiet game by the high standards he has set himself this season. Better when released in the wide channels.

11. Josh Hathaway - 6

The young Welshman somehow looked the most dangerous attacking player on the pitch but also ended up potentially harming his reputation. His raw pace seemed to scare the Scarlets' defence but he was careless with the ball, knocking it on a couple of times either in scoring positions or deep in the visitors’ 22.

10. Santiago Carreras - 8

The Argentine shone in the 10 jersey in the absence of Gareth Anscombe as he showed his growth in his ability to control the game. He sprayed a couple of beautiful long range passes, one of which led to the try for Barton and was close to intercepting a pass from Lloyd that likely would have resulted in him going the length of the field. The Argentina star landed two of his four attempted kicks at the posts and was named the official player of the match by Premier Sports.

9. Caolan Englefield - 7

Having had a new contract extension announced in the week the scrum-half had a fine performance as he bagged his first try at Kingsholm in a rare start, playing all 80 minutes to allow George Skivington the bonus of not having to use star man Tomos Williams from the bench. The snipe finish from close range was a good read of the defence in front of him and gave Gloucester the perfect start after less than four minutes.

1. Mayco Vivas - 5

The loose head prop came off at half time with the scrum fairly well-balanced.

2. Jack Singleton - 5

Gloucester’s lineout creaked and struggled throughout the match against Scarlets who have the best set piece in Europe in that area according to Skivington. Any throw that was even distinctly competable seemed to end up in the hands of Vaea Fifita.

3. Ciaran Knight - 6

The Gloucester academy product continues to show that he can hold his own at this level.

4. Freddie Thomas - 6

The long limbed lock was a powerhouse defensively, putting in some big shots and winning turnovers.

5. Arthur Clark - 6

The lock caught the eye with a powerful carry but both second rows were given an education at the lineout.

6. Jack Clement - 7

The blindside flanker was Gloucester’s primary ball carrier in the forwards and while he didn’t make a huge amount of metres he crucially got his side over the gain line, and touched down a try from a catch and drive and was held up with another blast over the whitewash down the blindside.

7. Lewis Ludlow - 7

The captain seemed to lead well with the Premier Sport mics picking up some good interactions with the referee. As for his performance as a player he was an outstanding jumping option at the back of the lineout, a demon tackler as always, and set the tone with an early powerful carry.

8. Ruan Ackermann - 6

The South African topped the tackle stats for his side in an industrious display but won't have done enough to force his way into Steve Borthwick's plans with the England head coach intriguingly in the stands at Kingsholm ahead of naming his Six Nations squad next week.

Replacements:

16. Seb Blake - 7

17. Jamal Ford-Robinson - 7

18. Kirill Gotovtsev - 6

19. Freddie Clarke - 6

20. Albert Tuisue - 7

21. Tomos Williams - N/A

22. Charlie Atkinson - 6

23. Jacob Morris - 6