We may have been denied the thrill of another miraculous comeback, but the usual entertainment was still on offer. Northampton's woes persist, as they relinquished a 17-match unbeaten streak at home. Gloucester, however, after a thrilling first 40 minutes, edged closer to the playoff zone with a victory marked by charisma and tenacity.
Rory Hutchinson missed a late penalty for the Saints, which would have secured them a bonus point, but the champions couldn't recover from the relentless energy with which Gloucester dominated the first half. Both teams played with reckless abandon, often passing to their own players but also frequently to the opposition, adding to the breathless excitement.
Turnovers were plentiful, both in the rugby and in the early personnel changes. If someone had wanted to disrupt the game, removing Fin Smith, Ollie Thorley, and George Hendy would have been a cynical choice, as all three had to be replaced in the first half. Smith was taken off after his instrumented mouthguard triggered a warning. Although he passed the subsequent head injury assessment, the process exceeded the time limit, preventing his return. He looked as bewildered and frustrated as the rest of Franklin’s Gardens.
Gloucester didn't mind. By the time Smith left, they had scored one try; by the time Thorley was replaced, they had scored two; and by the time Hendy was withdrawn, it was three. And what tries they were. Zach Mercer is back on the island and demonstrating why that's good news for everyone, including Steve Borthwick. He was everywhere, as was young Freddie Thomas, newly capped by Wales, as was Val Rapava-Ruskin and his new front-row partner, Afo Fasogbon, who was formidable in both tight and loose play with a pleasing swagger.
Not to mention Christian Wade. His duel with Ollie Sleightholme was captivating, each taking turns to outmaneuver the other. Wade was dominant in the first half, providing Santi Carreras with a scoring pass in the third minute. The Argentinian couldn't convert the first of his brace. George Furbank stepped in to replace Smith at fly-half and promptly scored a solo try, chipping and gathering smartly. But that was it for Northampton's scoring in the first half. Gloucester were rampant, intercepting passes and offloading extravagantly. Thomas intercepted a pass from Northampton and galloped away before sending Mercer to the posts on the switch. Then Wade outmaneuvered Sleightholme after another interception and set Carreras up for another try.
Carreras thought he had a hat-trick just before the break, following more breathless play, but the television match official spotted a knock-on in the build-up. Still, Fasogbon and Jack Clement forced a penalty, which Carreras converted to give Gloucester a 22-7 lead at halftime. We know enough about this competition to expect, as night follows day, the trailing team to come back. Sure enough, the second half was all Northampton's. Three times they thought they had scored; three times they were denied by the TMO, twice when Sleightholme narrowly failed to ground the ball during an incredible dive for the corner, and once when Alex Mitchell, returning from injury, flicked a pass slightly forward.
Juarno Augustus scored for the Saints a few minutes into the second half, powering over after a couple of tapped penalties. But those denied tries meant they wouldn't score again until the 73rd minute, when Hutchinson kicked a penalty to bring the home side within a score. Gloucester were forced to play the final minutes with 14 men as Mercer hobbled off the field with all substitutes used. Carreras landed his second penalty with two minutes remaining to give Gloucester a clear lead. They held on.
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