Gloucester beat Sale Sharks 21-15 at Kingsholm

Gloucester 21-15 Sale Sharks, Kingsholm

Gloucester Rugby produced a dramatic late finish to defeat Sale Sharks 21-15 at Kingsholm in their penultimate home game of the Gallagher PREM season.

The Cherry and Whites had controlled long spells but were forced to come from behind in the closing minutes after George Ford’s drop goal had put Sale ahead.

Charlie Atkinson proved the match-winner, scoring Gloucester’s final try after a flowing late attack to secure a hard-earned victory.

Sale Strike First Through Longstaff

Sale opened the scoring after Tom Roebuck broke down the right touchline and created the overlap for Alfie Longstaff to finish out wide. Ford missed the conversion, leaving the visitors 5-0 ahead.

Gloucester responded with pressure and thought they had scored through Matías Alemanno, but the try was ruled out after the TMO spotted a knock-on.

The hosts continued to dominate territory, but Sale struck again against the run of play. Tom O’Flaherty reacted quickest to a loose ball and raced clear for Sale’s second try. Ford converted to make it 12-0.

Loader Gets Gloucester Moving

Gloucester finally found their reward before halftime. After a penalty gave them field position, Ben Loader carried strongly as first receiver, bounced through tackles and forced his way over the line. George Barton converted to reduce the deficit to 12-7 at the break.

The hosts suffered an early second-half setback when captain Tomos Williams left the field with a shoulder injury, but Gloucester came out with renewed energy.

After repeated scrum pressure close to the Sale line, Atkinson stepped through the defence to score. Barton added the conversion to put Gloucester 14-12 ahead.

Ford Drop Goal Sets Up Late Drama

Gloucester thought they had a third try when Arthur Clark broke through, but the score was chalked off for a forward pass.

Sale then edged back ahead late in the game. After a loose ball and a goal-line drop-out, Ford struck a long-range drop goal to give the Sharks a 15-14 lead.

Atkinson Seals Gloucester Victory

With time running out, Gloucester launched one final attack. Atkinson released Max Llewellyn with a neat offload, and the centre carried deep into Sale territory before being stopped just short of the 22.

Caolan Englefield moved the ball quickly, and Atkinson arrived on the perfect support line to race over for the winning try. Barton converted, and Gloucester held on for a 21-15 victory.