Gloucester 34-31 Exeter - Gloucester Player Ratings from West Country derby triumph

It was a quick start for The Chiefs as it took them just 60 seconds to open the scoring. Rusi Tuima broke the line and a quick pass to Ross Vintcent gave the Italian international free roam to dive over the line untouched. The extras were missed.

The early score didn’t deter Gloucester however, as in the fourth minute Max Llewellyn powered through to even the scores up after a weighted pass by Tomos Williams isolated the wide Exeter defence. George Barton got the extras.

Gloucester extended their lead in the 22^nd minute after a period of fast paced fluid rugby proved too much for The Chiefs defence. Williams was involved once more as he weaved through three poor Exeter tackle attempts. Barton’s conversion attempt hit the post.

The tries were coming thick and fast with a try a piece for both sides just before the half hour mark. The hosts got the first through Llewellyn who got his second of the match in the 25^th minute, a lofted pass by Seb Atkinson found Ben Loader who charged through more poor Exeter tackles to offload to Llewellyn for an easy put down. The Chiefs try came from some electric speed by Immanuel Feyi-Waboso with the England international showing his class to capitalise on the gaps in the Gloucester defence. Both conversions were successful.

Gloucester wrapped up the try bonus point in the 33^rd minute when Will Trenholm powered through the line after a quick pick from the back of the ruck. Barton got the extras once more.

The chiefs got the first try of the second half through Greg Fisilau. The move was started by Feyi-Waboso who ran round three tacklers from the 22 to within the five metre line giving the visitors excellent field position for a quick ruck and pass out to Fisilau. Slade got the extras.

Gloucester extended their lead with a penalty from Barton in the 47^th minute after a breakdown infringement.

Gloucester got their fifth try in the 64^th minute from a driving maul which just proved too strong for Exeter’s defence, Trenholm got his second of the match. Barton’s conversion attempt hit the post once more. Exeter were awarded a penalty try in the 68^th minute which simultaneously saw Dian Bleuler sent to the bin.

The man advantage really played into Exeter’s hands as Slade scored in the 72^nd minute much too the disgust of the Kingsholm crowd who were adamant it was held up. Slade missed the extras cutting the deficit to three points. Ethan Roots was given a red card at the final whistle for throwing a punch.

Tries: 5 (Llewellyn 4’ 25’, Williams 22’, Trenholm 33’ 64’)

Conversions: 3 (Barton 4’ 25’ 34’)

Penalties: 1 (Barton 47’)

Yellow Cards: 1 (Bleuler 68’)

Red Cards: 0

15. George Barton 14. Will Joseph 13. Max Llewellyn 12. Seb Atkinson 11. Ben Loader 10. Charlie Atkinson 9. Tomos Williams (captain) 1. Val Rapava Ruskin 2. Jack Innard 3. Afo Fasogbon 4. Arthur Clark 5. Matias Alemanno 6. Freddie Thomas 7. Lewis Ludlow 8. Will Trenholm

16. George Knowles 17. Dian Bleuler 18. Nepo Laulala 19. Danny Eite 20. Jack Clement 21. James Venter 22. Caolan Englefield 23. Ollie Thorley

Tries: 4 (Vintcent 1’, Feyi-Waboso 28’, Fisilau 44’, Slade 72’)

Conversions: 2 (Slade 29’ 45’)

Penalties: 0

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 1 (E. Roots 80’)

15. Campbell Ridl 14. Paul Brown-Bampoe 13. Henry Slade (captain) 12. Len Ikitau 11. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso 10. Harvey Skinner 9. Stephen Varney 1. Will Goodrick-Clarke 2. Joseph Dweba 3. Josh Iofesa-Scott 4. Rusi Tuima 5. Lewis Pearson 6. Ethan Roots 7. Ross Vintcent 8. Greg Fisilau

16. Max Norey 17. Ethan Burger 18. Jimmy Roots 19. Christ Tshiunza 20. Tom Hooper 21. Finn Worley-Brady 22. Tom Cairns 23. Ben Hammersley

1. Val Rapava Ruskin - 6/10 – Performed well in the breakdown putting in a shift for about 70 minutes but didn’t do much in open play, was quieter around the park than his front row partners today.

2. Jack Innard - 6/10 – The Gloucester lineout was smooth today and Innard was strong around the park. Outperformed his opposite number, he even drew a few penalties to put his side in good field position.

3. Afo Fasogbon - 7/10 – Fasogbon held strong in the scrum against his opposite man, he was also solid around the park with some heavy hits and good breakdown play winning a pair of turnovers either side of the half. A much better performance compared to his last couple of outings.

4. Arthur Clark - 6/10 – Commanded the lineout well and tackled extremely well, he cut short a few promising Exeter attacks with some dominant tackling.

5. Matias Alemanno - 6/10 – A solid performance from the Argentine but nothing special a standard run of the mill type performance from Alemanno. He has been such a good servant for Gloucester over the past few seasons and today was another solid performance.

6. Freddie Thomas - 5/10 – He was relatively quiet it seemed today, didn’t put a foot wrong but didn’t show up spectacularly either a bog standard performance.

7. Lewis Ludlow - 6/10 – An ever faithful servant to Gloucester, Ludlow did what he does best today, a menace at the breakdown and carried with passion every single time. He lifts those around him into being better and his quality and leadership elevated this Gloucester side.

8. Will Trenholm - 9/10 – A generational performance from the number eight, he was so dominant in attack making extras yards on almost every carry. He got himself on the scoresheet twice and he was disruptive at the ruck, everything you want from your number eight. A performance to be proud of and easily his best in Cherry and White.

9. Tomos Williams - 8/10 – The architect of Gloucester play, he was back to his best today. Slick hands and quick tempo changes helped open up Exeter’s defence. He was player of the year last season for a reason and he will be a big miss for Gloucester when he leaves at the end of the season.

10. Charlie Atkinson - 6/10 – Atkinson has made the 10 jersey his own in the second half of this season and Gloucester will be keen to keep him around for as long as possible. He provides fast, fresh and fluid attacking rugby. He missed a couple of defensive one on one tackles however limiting him from getting a higher rating.

11. Ben Loader - 8/10 – He was a wrecking ball on the left wing; he was dominant in every carry today either dragging tacklers with him or just bouncing them off to offload to his teammates. A performance to be proud of.

12. Seb Atkinson - 5/10 – He is usually the best player on the pitch but today he wasn’t quite at that standard, he was still solid however. He didn’t stand out but his performance was still solid. He set up play that resulted in Gloucester scores but was caught offside a couple times.

13. Max Llewellyn – 7 /10 – A superb display from the outside centre, two first half tries and an assist for another Llewellyn was truly on top form. He has been struggling since his return from injury but today he was at his best and his attacking play was too quick and too precise for the Exeter defence. He was taken off just before half time though for a tactical call.

14. Will Joseph - 6/10 – Not as good as Loader but still a strong outing from the winger. He was moved to outside centre around half time but still wasn’t able to get into the game much more than he did in the first half. A couple of tantalising runs boosts his rating today.

15. George Barton - 7/10 – He has really found his feet at fullback this season and today he showed why he’s first choice. Strong from the tee and his ability to be a second distributor really helped put Gloucester’s attack to a different level. The local lad is a firm favourite and he just keeps getting better.

Gloucester step up – Gloucester got only their third win of the Gallagher PREM campaign but what a way to get it. Apart from a couple of slip ups they were dominant throughout. They were fluid in attack, something we haven’t seen much of this season, they were strong in defence really stepping up and bringing the contact to Exeter and they were better at the breakdown as well a truly impressive performance. Much of what they showed today they have been lacking this season but the new additions to the coaching staff and an almost fully fit starting XV might set Gloucester up in superb stead for next season.

Wicked Will Trenholm – It is not often you see a performance that good but today Trenholm put on a masterclass, he was exceptional. From the set piece to the breakdown to open play, he was a step ahead of everyone today. A truly sensational show, he beat 11 defenders and made 49 metres to accompany his two tries. He put on a performance that should be studied, he was that good!

The set piece fix – It has been common knowledge that Gloucester’s set piece this season has been lacklustre, especially the lineout but that was all changed today. Jack Innard threw a nearly perfect game from touch and Gloucester won the majority of the scrums as well. A strong performance from all three front row players and one that has most certainly been worked on in the training ground. “there’s been a big shift and put a lot of energy into the set piece” said Gloucester Director of Rugby George Skivington. “we have been a very dominant force there before and we haven’t been for probably 18 months so a lot of energy has gone into reminding the boys what it takes to be good there.”

Manny Feyi-Waboso - The winger was so good today, he put in a high level performance when many of his teammates were sub-par. He constantly ran through the tackle attempts of whoever tried to get him down. In one carry he made four defenders miss a tackle, sensational carrying. He was a shining light in a dim side and his case for being England’s best winger is in full force.

What is next for The Chiefs? – The fixtures have been thick and fast for Exeter over the past couple of months, they have progressed in multiple competitions and as a result many players have had to be rested. “I just can’t pick them, the rules don’t let me keep picking them, these games start picking up, I just can’t pick them” said Director of Rugby Rob Baxter. Scheduling concerns and mandatory breaks have forced The Chiefs staff to rest players and bring players in who have been out for a long time with injury or just out of favour. They have a six day turn around before they face Ulster in the European Challenge Cup on Saturday.