Sometimes it helps to have a double world champion on your side. There are many reasons why they overcame an 11-point deficit to win a thrilling game against Leicester. Gloucester under a blue sky and swirling winds. Their experienced bench played a role, as did greater precision at the back after an erratic start. They took advantage of their luck at times, and playing against one of the most porous defenses in the league didn't hurt them.
However, a key factor was the presence of flyhalf Handre Pollard, who scored a crucial try early in the second half while also scoring nine points in the three-point victory.
He failed to convert Ollie Hassell-Collins' wonderful shot as the Springbok center missed for the first time this season in 23 minutes. That hit against the posts felt costly at the time as Max Llewellyn scored his second try and Gloucester's third soon after to take a healthy and deserved 19-8 half-time lead.
Shortly after half-time, Leicester coach Michael Cheika took out the hairdryer “on the lowest setting”, as he put it, and the Tigers were awarded a penalty within reach of the try line. They opted to bunt and pass with a tidy interlude, including quick hands from Julián Montoya, which Pollard rammed blindly. After initial success, he ran under the posts.
Rugby matches often have turning points; Moments when the pace changes and everything that came before seems meaningless. This was it. Once Pollard added the extra, the result seemed inevitable.
“He's a class player,” was the simple verdict from Cheika, who praised Pollard's decision-making but preferred to focus on the team now third in the Premiership. “He was more physical, he could play more forward. We worked a little harder and our ruck was more active in the second half, so we were able to retain possession. Other things will start to work for you as you continue to progress.
Leicester began to capitalize on the point of contact by absorbing many defenders, a departure from Gloucester's original plan which limited the number of solid bodies until the break. Mantoya was impeccable in the lineout, which served as a springboard for meaty carries. Six minutes after Pollard's try, Freddie Stewart opened a seething drive from midfield and Josh Bassett played a simple pass wide of him to score in the corner.
Gloucester dominated the first half but could not withstand much of their hosts' momentum. Domos Williams, who came into the match with the second-highest number of line breaks, ran the show at scrum-half from the start, opening holes in fellow Welshman Llewellyn's midfield.
Arthur Clarke partnered second row teammate Freddie Thomas to set up a try in the 50 metres. When Santiago Carreras touched Ollie Cracknell, a stunned silence took over the stands. Despite Hassell-Collins' triple to take down two covering defenders from 20 yards out, the Leicester faithful were not happy.
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Then Pollard scored. So did Bassett. All of Gloucester's fight seemed to desert them when Dan Kelly charged in from close range after sustained pressure on 65 minutes. There will be another turn, but not another turning point.
The play slips away, and after Pollard leaves the field, Llewellyn – Note from George Skivington, Gloucester's director of rugby, scored his hat-trick when he stretched out his right foot from close range – as the Leicester defense threatened – to earn a Wales call-up this week. It became a three-point game with eight minutes left.
“I'm not worried,” Skivington said when asked what he thought about his team's second-half struggles. “That 10 minute block [after the restart] Last week it was the same. We'll have to see it. We have a game plan that requires many players. We have to work very hard and we are not there yet.
Hosted by Leicester. Maybe it was their solid defense or maybe Seb Blake threw the ball over the line. Or maybe it's the unwavering winning mentality imparted by some streaking winners, including one who won before.
