Match Centre: European Challenge Cup: Gloucester 15-10 Edinburgh

Gloucester 15-10 Edinburgh, Kingsholm

Gloucester Rugby navigated treacherous conditions under Storm Darragh to secure a hard-fought 17-10 victory against Edinburgh Rugby in their opening fixture of this season’s European Rugby Challenge Cup.

Tries from Seb Blake and Albert Tuisue, coupled with five points from Santi Carreras, ensured a winning start for the Cherry & Whites under the Friday night lights at Kingsholm.

The game opened with Gloucester showcasing their powerful maul, as Seb Blake, a graduate of the team’s academy, grounded the ball after 11 minutes. Santi Carreras expertly added the conversion, threading his kick through howling winds to make it 7-0.

The ensuing 20 minutes saw both teams struggle with handling errors, with the weather wreaking havoc on free-flowing rugby.

Gloucester came close to doubling their lead when Josh Hathaway chased a loose ball toward the try line, but the opportunity slipped away.

Edinburgh struck back just after the 30-minute mark through full-back Wes Goosen, who displayed quick thinking to ground the ball after being tackled out wide. Ross Thompson converted to level the scores at 7-7 heading into halftime.

Shortly after the interval, Carreras restored Gloucester’s lead with a well-taken penalty, making it 10-7. The Cherry & Whites kept the pressure on, with Christian Wade nearly setting up Carreras for a try, but the bobbling ball crossed the dead-ball line before it could be grounded.

Edinburgh’s discipline faltered in the second half, as Tom Dodd and Marshall Sykes were shown yellow cards in quick succession for infringing at critical moments.

Gloucester capitalized on their advantage, using their maul to full effect as replacement Albert Tuisue powered over for the decisive try. Carreras’ conversion attempt narrowly missed, leaving the score at 17-7.

Edinburgh replacement Ben Healy slotted a penalty in the closing stages, reducing the deficit to 17-10. However, it wasn’t enough to deny Gloucester, who held firm to secure their first European victory of the season.

Team line up:

Gloucester: Carreras; Wade, Harris, Llewellyn, Hathaway; Anscombe, Englefield; Rapava-Ruskin, Blake, Gotovtsev; Clark, Alemanno, Thomas, Ludlow (c), Ackermann.

Reserves: Singleton, Knight, Fasogbon, Taylor, Tuisue, Chapman, Butler, Barton.

Edinburgh: Goosen; McCann, Currie, Tuipulotu, Sweeney; Thompson, Shiel; Venter, Harrison, Hill, Sykes, Skinner, Dodd, Douglas, Bradbury (c).

Reserves: Cherry, Jones, Rae, Carmichael, McConnell, McAlpine, Healy, Lang.