Bath 17-10 GloucesterHome side recover after trailing 10-5 at half-time
Some mistakes are so frustrating they can be described as “coach killers”. A hyperbolic phrase that Urban Dictionary says originates from rugby league, it defines failures that cannot be plugged into an analyst’s algorithm but they can turn a game. Just after half-time, Gloucester’s scrum-half, Caolan Englefield, offered a perfect case study of the phenomenon.
The visitors travelled south for their West Country derby with Bath on the back of an eight-game losing streak in the Premiership, but were leading 10-5 at half-time. Ruan Ackermann and Zach Mercer were rampaging in the back row with the former scoring the opening try to cap a sequence that included a scrum penalty, a clean lineout and a bruising carry from close range. Bath responded with a slick try from Tom de Glanville in the corner, but stoic defence meant the Cherry and Whites were good value for their lead.