- Gloucester overcame the Bristol Bears 44-41 in a thriller at Ashton Gate
- Afolabi Fasogbon waved an opponent off the field in an incredibly cheeky act
- Christian Wade was one of the stars of the show for Gloucestser with a hat-trick
This was a Gallagher Premiership clash that had it all. It was supreme entertainment.
There were 11 tries, a Christian Wade hat-trick and yellow card, a near sensational Bristol comeback and the sight of one of English rugby’s brightest young players serving notice of what looks like his supreme talent. In the second half of this absorbing contest, Gloucester’s England Under-20 prop Afolabi Fasogbon won two scrum penalties against opposite number and experienced senior international Ellis Genge, who was then immediately substituted.
Fasogbon waved Genge from the field. How’s that for confidence?
Steve Borthwick isn’t one for showing his emotions, but watching on in the Ashton Gate stands he must have been overjoyed at seeing Fasogbon’s power.
The England head coach is desperate for a new tighthead prop and Fasogbon is just that.
‘It’s part of the fun. Ellis is a world class youngster and I’m sure he had some moments like that as a youngster,’ said Gloucester director of rugby George Skivington.
‘Afo got taught a lesson on the first scrum, but he’s learning fast. I’m sure Ellis won’t forget the moment. He’ll recognise there’s a good tighthead coming.
‘Afo is a young lad and I think we should be excited. He is a player. He’s a confident young man, but not arrogant. It (waving Genge off) is fine by me as long as you back it up.
‘Steve knows about Afo and we’ve had that discussion at length. I hope he goes on to play for England.’
Wade and Fasogbon were Gloucester’s stars. The former, now back in English rugby after stints in the NFL and in French rugby with Racing 92, crossed for his sixth Premiership treble.
It moved the wing to 85 tries, joint level with Danny Care in fourth on the league’s all-time scorers list. Oh how English rugby’s top division has missed his talent and charisma.
‘Today definitely marked a new era for us,’ Wade said. ‘Hopefully it can be the start of something.’
Gloucester had a horror campaign in 2023/24 with the nadir being a 90-0 defeat by Northampton. This summer, Skivington told his players they would not die wondering and that they would play a brand of attacking rugby designed to entertain. We saw that here.
Gloucester scored four in the first half. Bristol’s Harry Randall and Siva Naulago were yellow carded. Freddie Thomas and Gareth Anscombe added to Wade’s early brace.
Bristol outscored Gloucester six tries to five and they roared back into contention with Max Malins crossing twice. After he completed his treble, Wade was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle and it looked like Gloucester would capitulate. In the end, George Barton’s late penalty was the difference between the two sides.
‘It was a good game of rugby for the neutral with both teams wanting to play,’ said Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam.‘
It’s disappointing, but we got two points.’
