By Cherrybomb
April 29 2002

A last minute miss of a relatively easy kick by Mercier cost Gloucester dear as they were beaten by Sale Sharks 28-27. Gloucester fell asleep after an early lead and Sale scored 28 unanswered points, and a Gloucester fighting comeback wasn't good enough. After a 3 hour coach journey I have to admit I was looking forward to a Gloucester victory, sat directly behind the goal posts in the south stand. I expected a lot of noise, a scrappy, well fought match, and a good Gloucester win, but what we got was quite the opposite.

In the first few minutes Gloucester starting destroying the Sharks, with centre Terry Fanalua going over. This was probably the downfall of Gloucester as after a Mercier penalty and drop goal, the Cherry-And-Whites took their foot of the pedal and everything went downhill. Chris Catling was having a nightmare of a game, rarely catching before the bounce and kicking it. If one thing should ever be taught to Chris Catling then DON'T KICK should be it. The Sale attack didn't look brilliant in the first half and the ball was often kicked through, the trouble was that Cats kicked it directly into touch every time setting up another attack for Sale. Possession is everything, and Gloucester had none in the rest of the first half. Steve Hanley was the first to score for the Sharks, and not long after Mark Cueto also went over and before they new it Gloucester's lead became none. Hodgson missed both conversions, but made up for it with a penalty to leave the half time score at 13-13.

At the beginning of the second half Gloucester's woes continued. The crowd was looking for opportunities to chant and spur their team on, but there were none. I don't think Gloucester got possession at all in the beginning of the second half, and when they did it was wasted or kicked into touch. The one bonus for Gloucester was that every time Jason Robinson got the ball he was flattened by Gloucester, James Forrester putting in a fantastic tackle to stop him breaking through. Hooker Charles Marais scored soon into the break, and it looked like game over when Dan Harris also scored.

 

Then, however, as Gloucester started to keep some possession, the crowd got going. Knowing that anything is possible, the Kingsholm faithful put their voices on the line and the team did the same with their bodies. As they fought and fought against a fantastic Sale defence, inching closer and closer to the line, Terry Fanalua finally made it. More and more Gloucester pressure on the Sale line put James Forrester through, and a penalty kick was all Gloucester needed. Drop goal. The two words that have saved Gloucester many times this season enter the minds of all the fans that had made the long journey, and from a Gloucester scrum Ludo attempted from reasonably close range but it went wide. This was fair enough as drop goals are often pretty hit or miss, but when Gloucester were awarded a penalty in perfect position for Mercier Gloucester thought thank you, another close win because of a Mercier kick. As I sat down behind the posts, heart beating like a drummer on steroids, my mate next to me showed me his shaking arm. I couldn't decide whether I could watch or not, but I always felt that he was going to kick it. As he stepped up to the ball and made contact I collapsed into my seat, head in my hands. He had bent the ball wide of the mark and it was game over Gloucester. When I asked Ludo if he would mind commenting for glosrfc.com, he seemed upset and said "Later, later, I am sorry later." I guessed it would be a better idea not to persue the matter!

Final Score: Gloucester 27 - 28 Sale

Glosrfc.com managed to get a small interview with Nigel Melville after the match.

"Obviously it's very disappointing for everyone at the club, but what do you think was Gloucester's downfall today?"

"Well either side of half time we gave away two soft tries and they were key to it, but credit to the guys because there was going to be a period in the game when Sale would be in it and they got a hold of the game and they scored some tries, but I thought we fought back, and we fought back very well, there's a lot of spirit in the side and I just feel so sorry for Ludo, because it's not his fault, but you would have put your mortgage on that one going over, but that's sport for you."

"Gloucester's away form has been pretty poor this season, can you think of any reason for that?"

"No I can't because I think Gloucester have a lot of support away. It was only a twenty minute stroll that cost us the game today so I think generally there's nothing worth pointing at because we did get stronger but we did conceive that we do give tries away away from home and I think that cost us dear."

If you would like to write a piece for glosrfc.com on the last months happenings at the club, Rob Andrew, the proposition of a new stadium or other idea please e-mail me at cherrybomb@glosrfc.com