PREM Cup: 3 Future England Stars who Impressed in 'Wild' West Country derby

Matt Priest

by Matt Priest

Monday, 07 September 2026 at 09:43

byMatt Priest

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By Matt Priest at Ashton Gate

Bristol start their PREM cup season with a win in an all timer M5 derby that saw 83 points scored.

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Both teams opened their accounts for the season in the first ten minutes. Bristol struck first with a powerful driving maul which saw Paddy Pearce dive through the mound of players for the put down but Gloucester reacted quickly when a line break by Phil Cokanasiga set up a two on one and an easy score for Dan Robson.

AJ MacGinty missed his attempts at the post but his opposite number Charlie Atkinson was more clinical. Gloucester got a second try less than five minutes after their first when a well worked backs move off the back of a line out saw Ben Redshaw with plenty of space to dive over under the posts untouched but this time it was Bristol’s turn to bite back, as Jimmy Halliwell and then Gabirel Ibitoye got quick back to back tries to but The Bears back in front.

The Bristol bonus point was wrapped up in 26 minutes when a bullet line from Noah Heward tore through the Gloucester defensive line, The Cherry and Whites got one back on the half hour mark as Cokanasiga intercepted a poor pass and took it from the half way line to under the posts. Both sides got their conversions.

Bristol extended their lead with their fifth first half try in the 39^th minute when Harry Thacker powered over for the score. Williams got the extras again.

HALFTIME: BRISTOL BEARS 29:21 GLOUCESTER RUGBY

Bristol came out all guns blazing for the second half, scoring in just 75 seconds. A penalty from the off by Gloucester and a beautiful maul drive saw Thacker get his second of the match, Gloucester bit back quickly again though when Cokanasiga stepped out his opposing man and shimmied to the score.

The game was quickly becoming Bristol’s when they got their seventh try of the game in the 50^th minute from Williams, it was a bit too easy for the Bristol man as he just split open a lazy Gloucester defence. The visitors got one back six minutes later through Jack Clement.

The deficit for the visitors was reduced to three points with five minutes remaining when Junior Denny scored on his debut and Ross Byrne, who has been linked with a move away from Gloucester, followed with the extras.

FULLTIME: BRISTOL BEARS 43- 40 GLOCUESTER RUGBY

Bristol Bears

Tries: 7 (Pearce 3’, Halliwell 15’, Ibitoye 18’, Heward 26’, Thacker 39’ 41, Williams 52’)

Conversions: 4 (Williams 26’ 39’ 41’ 51’)

Penalties: 0

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 0

15. Noah Heward 14. Ollie Harris 13. Victor Worsnip 12. James Williams 11. Gabriel Ibitoye 10. AJ MacGinty 9. Harry Randall 1. Max Lahiff 2. Harry Thacker 3. Jimmy Halliwell 4. George Taylor 5. Joe Batley 6. Paddy Pearce 7. Kenzie Jenkins 8. Fitz Harding (captain)

Replacements

16. Tomas Gwilliam 17. Andrew Turner 18. Sam Scott 19. Noah Williams 20. Ben Rogers 21. Kieran Marmion 22. Tobi Wilson 23. Max Clark

Gloucester Rugby

Tries: 6 (Robson 6’, Redshaw 10’, Cokanasiga 30’ 44’, Clement 56’, Denny 75’)

Conversions: 5 (Atkinson 6’ 11’ 30’ 56’, Byrne 75’)

Penalties: 0

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 0

15. Ben Redshaw 14. Ollie Thorley 13. Phil Cokanasiga 12. Max Knight 11. Ben Loader 10. Charlie Atkinson 9. Dan Robson 1. Val Rapava-Ruskin 2. Jack Innard 3. Afo Fasogbon 4. Joe Joyce 5. Jack Mann 6. Jack Clement 7. Lewis Ludlow (captain) 8. Will Trenholm

Replacements

16. Seb Blake 17. Dian Bleuler 18. Ciaran Knight 19. Harry Taylor 20. Jack Gilbert 21. Caolan Englefield 22. Ross Byrne 23. Junior Denny

3 ENGLAND HOPEFULS TO WATCH

Ben Redshaw: Gloucester & England – Redshaw swapped The Toon for The West Country at the start of last season but his first season at Gloucester saw him plagued by injuries. The young fullback did manage to make some appearances last season though and these were either brilliant or a bit lacklustre.

He had a cracking performance against his old team at the tail end of last season but was like a fish out of water against Leicester Tigers in The Slater Cup at Villa Park. His talent is enormous however and he is one of the brightest talents in the Gallagher Premiership, and this season could see him cement himself as the owner of Gloucester’s number 15 jersey. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we saw him in an England jersey over the next 12-24 months.

Max Knight: Gloucester & England – Knight is a Gloucester boy through and through, he has worked his way through the academy ranks after playing his youth rugby at local Gloucester side Hucclecote RFC. Max is the older of the two Knight brothers at Gloucester’s disposal and played today alongside his cousin Ciaran for The Cherry and Whites.

Max is a powerful inside centre who has the ability to take the ball to the line and dish it out at the last second, playing as a secondary distributor to the fly half. At only 21 he has lots of rugby left in him and although he will be backing up England international Seb Atkinson, we could see a lot more of Knight in the cup and Europe than we did last season.

Paddy Pearce: Bristol & England - The 22 year old has been on the fringes at Bristol for a while, he’s made 16 appearance in his career for The Bears, 12 of which came in the PREM Rugby Cup. His versatility to play either lock or back row may see him pushed up the pecking order this season as Bristol’s pack isn’t the strongest or the deepest and as such it may finally be Pearce’s time to shine. He has a lot of potential and his clearly thought of highly at Ashton Gate, so could 2026/2027 be Pearce’s breakthrough year?

Gloucester Rugby player ratings

1. Val Rapava-Ruskin – 6/10

Val had a classic Val Rapava Ruskin performance, some quick hands, some heavy running but nothing too spectacular from the loosehead today. He did win a scrum with an amazing push that outdid his opposite number.

2. Jack Innard - 5/10

Innard threw a few sloppy lineouts which gave Bristol some good field position. Around the park however his output was better. His tackle rate was high and he carried and attacked the breakdown well. It was the same story at the lineout as it was for him last season, if he can work on that area of the game his impact will be much higher.

3. Afo Fasogbon - 5/10

Fasogbon had a slightly quieter game than his prop partner but he was as always, a force of nature to move. Bristol struggled to get him to the floor and it seemed as though they were trying to run around him rather than at him.

4. Joe Joyce - 5/10

Joyce called the set piece for Gloucester today and sometimes his decision making wasn’t great; a few strange lineout calls alongside Innard’s poor throws turned the ball over against his old team. Defensively however he was solid, made some heavy hit which saw groans be let out by the crowd and helped stall the Bristol maul at times.

5. Jack Mann - 6/10

Mann had a solid attacking output; he partnered up with Joyce well and attacked the line of play with every carry. There were a couple questionable breakdown infringements on the defensive side of things however which did put Gloucester in a couple of poor field positions.

6. Jack Clement - 4/10

Clement made a few questionable decisions, most notably a wayward pass to nobody when he was five metres out from the try line. A few sloppy breakdown penalties were given away too, not his finest outing even with a try.

7. Lewis Ludlow (captain) - 6/10

What Ludlow brings to Gloucester is so much more than just consistently solid play. He is the heart and soul of the club and he elevates those around him through his extreme work rate and desire to hit every breakdown, make every tackle, challenge every ruck.

8. Will Trenholm - 8/10

Trenholm is like a bull with the ball in his hand, he hits every contact at full speed with his head lowered. He is a unit at the base of the scrum and commanded the scrum and the breakdown well today. Another good performance from an underappreciated number 8.

9. Dan Robson - 7/10

“Welcome back Robbo” was shouted from the stands after the scrum half dove over for the score on his first game back in Glos colours. He may be reaching the twilight years of his career but he doesn’t look like he’s slowed down at all. Fast out the back of the ruck and sniping at every possible opportunity, a good “debut” back.

10. Charlie Atkinson - 7/10

Atkinson’s distribution was sensational today, his weight and timing of the pass was excellent and he found the gaps in the defence needed to set up play in scoring positions. His ability to take the ball to the line and ship it at the last minute is priceless for the way this Gloucester side play and he is their talisman in attack.

11. Ben Loader - 5/10

Loader was kept quiet on his wing but it wasn’t his fault, he barely got a touch of the ball due to the speed of the Bristol defence. When he did get the ball he was solid with it in hand, he was rarely beaten one on one but just didn’t have much involvement.

12. Max Knight - 6/10

Knight is an inside centre with a lot of potential and it showed today in phases. He linked up with Charlie Atkinson well and provided good depth and passing ability when he was shipping the ball out wide to his centre partner or when fullback Redshaw stepped into the attacking shape. He will be learning from one of the worlds best in Seb Atkinson so will be an interesting player to watch for the season to come.

13. Phil Cokanasiga - 9/10

A strong showing on his Gloucester debut, got himself on the scoresheet and set up another he was the creative spark in attack for Gloucester, put in some heavy hits defensively too.

14. Ollie Thorley - 5/10

Thorley was ok today. He didn’t do anything too spectacular but didn’t make too many mistakes either, he was slightly outclassed by Ibitoye on the wing but wasn’t a bad performance.

15. Ben Redshaw - 7/10

Redshaw’s speed and acceleration were on fine show this afternoon, his ability to burst through a defensive line set up Gloucester in multiple attacking positions. On the other side of the ball he played well, he called the defensive line out and made a try saving tackle when AJ MacGinty tried a Crossfield kick. A solid performance from the young full back.

Replacements - 4/10

Gloucester got so much worse defensively when the first batch of changes were made, gave away way too much of the ball and seemed to let play flow through them not flow with them. However, young winger Junior Denny took his debut well.

5 THINGS YOU MISSED: BRISTOL BEARS 43-40 GLOUCESTER

Bristol’s magnificent maul

The Bristol maul today was responsible for about half of the points they scored. Gloucester had no answer for it, it was strong, steady and the wheels just kept on turning. Every time a Bristol lineout resulted in a maul it felt like five points would ensue shortly after. Much the credit of Harry Thacker the Bristol hooker who controlled and elevated the push. Pat Lam may look to this for the season and it overpowered Gloucester every time.

Gloucester’s leaky defence

At one stage it looked like every time Bristol touched the ball they would score, Gloucester’s defence was like a bucket with no bottom, play just flowed right through them. They did seem to find their mark in phases but for the middle third of the game they were completely outclassed. This is something they will really be working on over the next few weeks so that they aren’t out gunned when the Gallagher Premiership season starts. Phil Cokanasiga and Ben Redshaw had to make last gasp tackle time and time again because Bristol just cruised through the Gloucester line.

Junior Denny, a winger to watch

The young Gloucester winger came on with just under 20 minutes to play and flipped the game on its head, he was excellent in attack and elevated the Gloucester play, a diving try was the cherry on top and he was so unlucky not to score in the dying seconds before Bristol turned the ball over. A debut to be immensely proud of even if they didn’t get the win.

Bristol’s conversion caution

The Bears really struggled converting their tries to start the game, three misses in a row from relatively safe positions saw MacGinty relinquished of kicking duties and James Williams taking over, although it didn’t cost them the win it very nearly did, when the league season starts Bristol may not have the wiggle room to afford these missed kicks like they just about did today.

Free flowing rugby

83 points were scored today and although there are serious defensive questions to ask we must celebrate the brilliance of attacking rugby. From quick hands and cheeky kicks to offloads and interceptions this game truly had it all. It was a captivating match to watch and perfect to bring new eyes onto the sport. The spoils were shared from all positions and were scored in a variety of ways, a truly great game of attacking rugby to inspire the next generation to pick up the sport. Just what rugby needs.

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