Gloucester edged out by Edinburgh in 26-24 defeat

Edinburgh 26-24 Gloucester, Hive Stadium

Gloucester Rugby suffered a narrow 26-24 defeat to Edinburgh Rugby in an entertaining Investec Champions Cup clash at Hive Stadium, with the hosts overturning a first-half deficit to claim victory by just two points.

The Cherry and Whites made a flying start, opening the scoring inside two minutes. Slick handling through the midfield released Josh Hathaway down the wing, and the winger showed sharp pace to beat Darcy Graham and score in the corner. George Barton’s conversion from wide was unsuccessful, but Gloucester had early momentum.

Edinburgh enjoyed plenty of possession but struggled to break Gloucester down, with a potential try ruled out for a forward pass. Barton then extended Gloucester’s lead with a penalty after being caught high in a tackle.

Just before the 20-minute mark, the hosts responded through former Gloucester scrum-half Ben Vellacott, who finished a strong solo effort, although Ross Thompson missed the conversion.

Gloucester restored their advantage when Barton struck another penalty from in front, and they ended the half strongly. Mikey Austin and Charlie Atkinson combined well, with Atkinson finishing a chip through to score Gloucester’s second try. Barton converted to send the visitors into the break leading 18-5.

Edinburgh dominated the early stages after the restart and reduced the deficit when hooker Ewan Ashman forced his way over, with Thompson adding the conversion. Gloucester replied immediately as a scrum penalty allowed Barton to slot his fourth kick of the night to make it 12-21.

Momentum then swung decisively. Liam McConnell powered over for Edinburgh, and soon after a penalty try put the hosts in front for the first time, with Gloucester also losing Atkinson to a yellow card.

Despite being a man down, Gloucester showed resilience. Barton landed a late penalty to bring his side within two points, but Edinburgh held firm in the closing minutes to secure a 26-24 victory.

Gloucester now wrap up their Champions Cup pool stage with a home fixture against Toulon at Kingsholm.

Team line up:

Edinburgh: Goosen, Graham, Currie, Lang, Van der Merwe, Thompson, Vellacott; Whitcombe, Morris, Blyth-Lafferty, Hunter-Hill, Young, McConnell, Douglas, Bradbury (capt).

Reserves: Ashman, Schoeman, Hill, McVie, Dodd, Muncaster, Shiel, O'Conor.

Gloucester: Barton, Cotgreave, Butler, S. Atkinson, Hathaway, C. Atkinson, Austin; Rapava-Ruskin, Crane, Laulala, Thomas, Alemanno, Gwynne, Ludlow, Clement.

Reserves: Knowles, Knight, Fasogbon, Jordan, Venter, Price, Byrne, Morris.