PREM: Gloucester 26-15 Harlequins - Cherry and Whites bag long-awaited first PREM win of season

The lead was short however lived when Ben Redshaw dazzled through the Harlequins defence much to the joy of an elated Kingsholm crowd. The fullback showed some darting footwork to score his first try for The Cherry & Whites in the 13th minute. Byrne got the extras putting the hosts in front.

Harlequins got themselves back in front in the 25th minute through a strong Alex Dombrandt carry. A powerful maul broke away from the lineout and the resulting carry proved too much for the Gloucester defence. Smith got the extras this time putting the visitors up 7-12 with 55 minutes left to play.

Gloucester retook the lead on the stroke of half time after Rordigo Isgro’s shocking kick bounced right into the hands of former skipper Lewis Ludlow who dove over for the score on his 250th Gloucester appearance. Byrne got the extras giving the hosts a two point lead going into the half.

The second half started off quietly with neither team managing to find the edge during the first period of the half, a couple of knock ons and silly penalties by both sides stopped them from finding that clinical edge.

The deadlock was finally broken by Redshaw on the hour mark after a looping pass found him with acres of space to dot down in the corner, a carbon copy of Quins’s first try of the game. Byrne converted giving Gloucester a nine point lead heading into the games final quarter.

Smith reduced this deficit with a slick penalty kick in the 65th minute. Just two minutes later Gloucester extended their lead, a superb run by Ollie Thorley over powered Nick David, who’s attempt of a tackle was easily shrugged off, and touched down in the corner. The hosts saw the game out well with some strong time consuming play.

Gloucester Rugby: 26

Tries: 4 (Redshaw 13’ 60’, Ludlow 40’, Thorley 67’)

Conversions: 3 (Byrne 14’ 40’ 60’)

Penalties: 0

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 0

15. Ben Redshaw 14. Rob Russell 13. Will Joseph 12. Seb Atkinson 11. Ollie Thorley 10. Ross Byrne 9. Tomos Williams (captain) 1. Ciaran Knight 2. Seb Blake 3. Kirill Gotovtsev 4. Freddie Thomas 5. Matias Alemanno 6. Deian Gwynne 7. Lewis Ludlow 8. Will Trenholm

Replacements: 16. Kealan Freeman-Price 17. Val Rapava Ruskin 18. Afo Fasogbon 19. Cam Jordan 20. Josh Basham 21. Mikey Austin 22. Charlie Atkinson 23. Jack Cotgreave

Harlequins: 15

Tries: 2 (Murley 10’, Dombrant 25’)

Conversions 1 (Smith 26’)

Penalties: 1 (Smith 65’)

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 0

15. Cameron Anderson 14. Rodrigo Isgro 13. Oscar Beard 12. Jarrod Evans 11. Cadan Murley 10. Marcus Smith 9. Will Porter 1. Fin Baxter 2. Jack Walker 3. Titi Lamositele 4. Keiran Tredwell 5. Stephan Lewies 6. Chandler Cunningham-South 7. Will Evans 8. Alex Dombrant (captain)

Replacements: 16. George Turner 17. Boris Wenger 18. Pedro Delgado 19. Guido Petti Pagadzabal 20. Jack Kenningham 21. Lucas Friday 22. Luke Northmore 23. Nick David

1. Ciaran Knight - 5/10 – carried well and tackled hard but was penalised in the scrum multiple times.

2. Seb Blake - 6/10 – The hooker carried well but missed on some of his lineout throws. He did kick an outrageous 50/22 though.

3. Kirill Gotovtsev - 4/10 – He was constantly outmanned by Fin Baxter in the scrum and wasn’t his finest day around the park.

4. Freddie Thomas - 6/10 – Thomas returned to the side after a Quilter Nations Series campaign with Wales and he commanded the lineout well, carried hard and solidified the rucks well.

5. Matias Alemanno - 5/10 – Much like Thomas, Alemanno conducted himself and the set piece well but was kept a bit quieter than his lock partner.

6. Deian Gwynne - 4/10 – The young Welshman didn’t make too much of an impact today; he was kept quiet around the breakdown and in open play.

7. Lewis Ludlow - 7/10 – The former skipper scored a vital try at the end of the first half to put Gloucester in the lead heading into the dugouts. He had a good game on his 250th appearance for The Cherry and Whites.

8. Will Trenholm - 7/10 – Trenholm was a strong presence throughout, menacing around the breakdown and fluid in attack. He set up good opportunity for the Gloucester backs to work their moves.

9. Tomos Williams - 6/10 – created some good moves and controlled tempo well, didn’t have a stellar performance like usual however.

10. Ross Byrne - 7/10 – Kicked well throughout and set up play for Atkinson outside him well.

11. Ollie Thorley - 7/10 – He made some darting runs that were promising and resulted in Gloucester bonus point score.

12. Seb Atkinson - 7/10 – Atkinson’s return is a much needed addition to an injury ridden Gloucester side. The England international looked his composed but powerful self in the midfield and slotted back in excellently.

13. Will Joseph - 6/10 – Consistently ran strong lines and bounced off of players, was kept quiet in the second half though.

14. Rob Russell - 6/10 – He stepped up and into PREM rugby well, carried hard and fast and was only beaten on his wing from a massive overlap from Harlequins.

15. Ben Redshaw - 9/10 – Redshaw took his first try extremely well and was a dangerous attacking option throughout the game leaving the field with a brace. He also kicked well and help gain much needed field position for Gloucester.

Replacements - 5/10 – Only the replacement props got a fair amount of game time and they scrummaged well when they came on.

Gloucester gets their first PREM win – After a run of five straight league losses, their worst in history, The Cherry and Whites finally get their first league win. With players returning from international journey and a temporary coaching addition of Red Roses head coach John Mitchell this Gloucester side are finally starting to click. A few stars back from injury certainly helped bolster the side but they looked a lot more composed and clinical than they did previously.

Ben Redshaw’s superb brace – The young fullback has been an excellent signing for Gloucester and now he’s back healthy he’s ready and raring to make the 15 shirt his own. He deserved Player of the match today and was a step above most others on the pitch.

Lacklustre Quins – It was a poor showing from Quins who started off well but just teetered off, a Cadan Murley knock on prevented them getting a third try but it was all Gloucester’s way after an early Quins score.

Quins strong scrum – The only area that Quins really seemed to dominate was the scrum, Baxter and Delgado were too much for Knight and Gotovtsev and they won a few scrum penalties. The breakdown is certainly an area Quins will want to keep on top form heading into December and a tough run of fixtures.

“He might be the best communicator in England”- Gloucester director of Rugby, George Skivington, was full of praise for Seb Atkinson after making his return from injury. After a few weeks on the sideline his addition to this Gloucester side was immense, he helped kick on and the side just looked so much better with him in it.

“having him back, having his energy back, I think he carried really well today, he’s a brilliant individual and he’s a guy you want to build things round”. It is clear he’s highly though of at Kingsholm and is sure to be a firm favourite in Cherry and White for the foreseeable. He is also knocking on Borthwick’s door for the six nations.