Christian Wade rolls back the years as Gloucester edge West Country derby for the ages

A West Country derby which had it all: 11 tries, three bonus points, three yellow cards, a hat-trick, sledging and history.

Christian Wade rolled back the years and his three tries — his first since returning to the Premiership after stints in the NFL and with French aristocrats Racing 92 — laid the foundations for Gloucester’s first victory at Ashton Gate for more than seven years.

That is 85 tries and counting for Wade — his sixth hat-trick — and the visitors’ bonus-point victory did the wing’s chances of chasing Chris Ashton’s all-time record of 101 the world of good.

“He’s got magical feet,” said Gloucester head coach George Skivington. “He’s a cheeky chap who keeps morale high. He has always had swagger — even since I played with him when he was 18. The swagger is there but he backs it up by being a real pro, too.”

Gloucester led by 19 points after 63 minutes but a remarkable Bristol resurgence — three tries in nine minutes — almost saw the visitors throw it away. Converting the third try in the late salvo, AJ MacGinty had the chance to nudge the Bears in front but could not execute and, with the scores level, a last-gasp George Barton penalty, after an immaculate display off the tee, saw Gloucester home. Bristol’s two bonus points still send them top of the Premiership table, albeit for only one evening.

“What pleased me most was sticking to the plan,” Skivington added. “We kept having a go with some brave plays. We talked a lot about doing what we did later in the game last week earlier in the game this week. The character of the boys to stick in there is the main thing. The young lads working and working was impressive.” Alongside Wade, Jack Clement was immense for the visitors.

Amid the craziness, a second-half scrummaging ding-dong between Afo Fasogbon, Gloucester’s promising tighthead, and Ellis Genge, the battle-hardened loosehead, was an irrefutable highlight. Fasogbon, in front of Steve Borthwick, won a scrum penalty against Genge in the English-qualified battle and proceeded to offer England’s vice-captain a cheerio wave as he was replaced. Serious chutzpah. Touchingly, however, the duo were full of smiles at the last, embracing at the final whistle.

Inauspicious start for Gloucester

From the first whistle to the last, the picture could not have been more dichotomised for Gloucester. The visitors started lethargically and it took only a minute for Bristol to open the scoring. Harry Randall peeled round the back of a line-out before offloading sumptuously to Gabriel Ibitoye, the agile wing outpacing two defenders to score.

Gloucester’s reply was swift. Max Llewellyn did superbly to step inside two Bristol defenders and release Wade, who scooted down the touchline for his first try since returning to the Premiership.

With the pre-match light show a distant memory, Gloucester offered some pyrotechnics of their own. Clement’s swift hands sent Freddie Thomas clear, the lock offloaded to Tomos Williams, Harry Taylor was on the scrum-half’s shoulder, and the ball eventually found its way back to Thomas to score.

To make matters worse for the Bears, Siva Naulago was yellow-carded for a reckless tackle and minutes later Randall followed for failing to retreat 10 metres at a tap penalty.

With Bristol down to 13, Gloucester twisted the knife. A deft Williams chip was read symbiotically by fellow Welsh international Gareth Anscombe; auspicious timing given Wales coaching duo Warren Gatland and Rob Howley were among the crowd.

A MacGinty penalty offered Bristol temporary respite but Wade managed to intercept Max Malins in Gloucester’s 22 and wrap up a first-half bonus point for Gloucester. Naulago’s score just before the interval kept Bristol alive.

Barton added six more points to Gloucester’s tally before Randall squirmed over to again keep Bristol within touching distance. The ball’s lethal bounce gave Wade his hat-trick before he, too, saw yellow for a sloppy tackle.

Malins’ late double, alongside Rich Lane’s score, set up a madcap finale but Barton held his nerve when it mattered, with the night belonging to Gloucester — and Wade.

Match details

Bristol: M Malins; S Naulago, B Janse van Rensburg, J Williams, G Ibitoye; AJ MacGinty, H Randall; E Genge, G Oghre, G Kloska, J Dun, J Batley, S Luatua, J Heenan, F Harding (c). 
Replacements: W Capon, J Woolmore, M Lahiff, J Caulfield, B Grondona, K Marmion, J Jenkins, R Lane. 
Sin-bin: Naulago 18, Randall 20.
Gloucester: G Barton; C Wade, C Harris, S Atkinson, M Llewellyn; G Anscombe, T Williams (c); M Vivas, J Singleton, K Gotovtsev, F Thomas, M Alemanno, J Clement, H Taylor, Z Mercer. 
Replacements: S Blake, J Ford-Robinson, A Fasogbon, F Clarke, R Ackermann, A Tuisue, C Englefield, C Atkinson. 
Sin-bin: Wade 70
Referee: T Foley
Attendance: 17,109