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ALL OUR YESTERDAYS: GLOUCESTER SPECIAL
Kingsley Hyland’s series of rugby reminiscences continues with a look at some memorable moments against Friday’s opponents, Gloucester.
Apart from West Country neighbours Bristol, Gloucester are the only current Premiership side never to have won the competition.
On the other hand, they are one of only three clubs – Bath and Leicester being the others – who have never played below the top tier of English club rugby since the introduction of formal leagues in 1987.
Prior to that they were giants of the amateur game, and three times winners of the National Knockout Cup. It was in that competition in 1977 that they first played against Gosforth, the club which through several name changes is now Newcastle Red Bulls.
MARCH 12, 1977: GOSFORTH 3-0 GLOUCESTER
Gosforth were the holders of the John Player Cup when Gloucester travelled north for this quarter-final tie at the old ground on the Great North Road. The hosts had declined an invitation to play the tie at the nearby County Ground which would have been able to accommodate a larger crowd in relative comfort, with travelling supporters comfortably outnumbering the locals.
The match amounted to an 80-minute battle of attrition as neither side could manage a try as they probed each other for weaknesses. If they found any, they were unable to exploit them.
Gloucester dominated the set pieces and created the better scoring opportunities. They applied sufficient pressure to win six penalties within kicking range, but their England international full-back Peter Butler missed them all. The only score of the game came in the 57th minute when scrum-half Malcolm Young, who had recently enjoyed a try-scoring England debut, kicked a penalty from 30 metres, having struck a post with his previous attempt.
Malcolm Young
© NRB
That penalty had come following a jinking run from Richard Breakey which represented the closest that the home side had come to scoring a try, as they enjoyed the better of the third quarter. They had to survive considerable pressure in the final quarter, but Gloucester’s occasionally over-aggressive approach cost them dear as they conceded penalties from promising positions.
The match was not without controversy. The referee, Norman Sansom, was an international referee refereeing out of Scotland, but he had previously refereed out of Northumberland and was actually a Gosforth club member. He was physically assaulted by an irate Gloucester supporter at the end of the game as the players made the long walk back to the changing rooms.
Early in the game Gloucester had been awarded a penalty, which should have guaranteed three points. In those days there were no officially appointed neutral touch judges, although in cup matches the host club were required to appoint as touch judge a referee from the local society, whilst the other touch judge was a member of the visiting club.
The Gloucester ‘appointed’ TJ raised his flag to signal a successful kick, but the flag of Northumberland referee Ray Parlett remained steadfastly by his side. It actually mattered not as the referee had spotted an over-eager Gloucester player straying in front of the kicker, and awarded a penalty to the home side for off-side. The Gosforth team that day was:
B.Patrick; S.Gustard; K.Britton; H.Patrick; S.Archer; R.Breakey; M.Young; C.White; D.Madsen; A.Cutter; T.Roberts; J.Hedley; I.Richardson; P.Dixon; D.Robinson
Gloucester exacted their revenge in impressive style a year later as Gosforth surrendered their hold on the cup in the second round of the competition at Kingsholm.
FEBRUARY 25, 1978: GLOUCESTER 19-10 GOSFORTH
Gosforth were quickly to learn that Gloucester were a very different proposition on their own patch as they struggled for an hour to secure any meaningful possession, and were never allowed to settle and play their normal game.
Roared on by their abrasive followers, the Gloucester forwards dominated from the outset. Goal-kickers Butler and Young both had off days with the boot, with the former missing with four kicks at goal. Gloucester opened the scoring after ten minutes when a clever cross kick was fielded by winger Viv Wooley, who was able to score unopposed. Butler managed to kick the conversion and then a penalty as the home side went into the break 10-0 in front.
The visitors lost Steve Gustard to injury at half-time, and with teams limited to two injury replacements had to replace him with Bob Anderson, a flanker. What would prove to be the decisive score came early in the second half when Gloucester hooker Steve Mills scored from a lineout. They did not have to wait long for their third try when winger Chris Williams was allowed to waltz through the Gosforth defence to score, converted by Butler.
Steve Gustard
© NRB
Trailing 0-19 and with defeat seemingly assured, Gosforth finally burst into life. Centre Alan Moor took advantage of impressive handling by the backs and crossed for a try. By this point the visitors’ pack was in the ascendency and Malcolm Young sniped through to set up Dave Robinson for their second try, which Young converted, but that was as close as they got. The Gosforth team that day was:
B.Patrick; S.Archer; A.Moor; H.Patrick; S.Gustard; R.Breakey; M.Young; J.Bell; D.Madsen; C.White; J.Hedley; T.Roberts; P.Dixon; J.Butler; D.Robinson
The sides would meet on two further occasions in the cup in the pre-professional era. Gloucester eventually won comfortably (26-15) at Gateshead Stadium in February 1990 against a Newcastle Gosforth side sitting bottom of the second tier, but Newcastle sprung a surprise in November in 1992 when they triumphed 13-10 against their higher-ranked opponents at Kingston Park.
Newcastle’s record against Gloucester in the professional era is not impressive, with just 19 victories and a draw from 52 matches. Some of those victories are, however, quite noteworthy, none more than in their first relegation season.
APRIL 14, 2012: GLOUCESTER 20-29 NEWCASTLE
Newcastle were eight points adrift at the bottom of the Premiership when they travelled to Kingsholm, and hadn’t won away from home in 14 months.
They had beaten the Cherry and Whites at home in December (26-25), but that was one of only two victories prior to the takeover of the club by Semore Kurdi, and what turned out to be the inspirational appointment of Gary Gold as interim director of rugby, which ensured that they took the relegation battle with Wasps to the last day of the season.
Club skipper James Hudson returned to the side, having been out with injury since Christmas, and it was the unexpected dominance of their forwards and the boot of Jimmy Gopperth with 19 points that were the foundation of this victory. Hudson put in a player-of-the-match performance, constantly disrupting the Gloucester line-out. The visitors dominated the first half and led 19-6 at the break through Ally Hogg’s try, converted by Gopperth, who added four penalties.
Jimmy Gopperth
© NRB
Having been booed off by their supporters at half-time Gloucester improved in the second half, and following Freddie Burns’ penalties and a try from Akapusi Qera, they took the lead with ten minutes remaining (22-20).
Newcastle regained the lead with Gopperth’s fifth penalty (22-23), and the clinching score came four minutes from the end, as the result of an error. Hooker Rob Vickers had been successfully targeting Hudson in the line-out all afternoon, but on this occasion he overthrew. This appeared to surprise everyone as the ball dropped into the grateful hands of Mark Wilson who was left with an unopposed run in, Gopperth inevitably converting. The Newcastle team that day was:
G.Goosen; C.Uys; J.Helleur (rep.T.Catterick 73); J.Fitzpatrick; R.Shortland; J.Gopperth; P.Stringer; J.Golding (rep. G.Shiells 59); R.Vickers; E.Murray; J.Hudson; T.Swinson; A.Hogg; W.Welch (rep. M.Wilson 70); A.Balding (rep. T.Tu’ifua 59).
MARCH 3, 2018: GLOUCESTER 20-21 NEWCASTLE
Newcastle’s successful 2017-18 season, in which they finished fourth to secure a play-off place, was based on outstanding away form. Having for years struggled to buy a win on the road, their triumph at Kingsholm in March 2018 was their sixth of the season away from home.
Having endured a challenging coach journey to the West Country through snow the previous day following the cancellation of their scheduled flight, the visitors suffered another blow when Toby Flood had to pull out on the morning of the match with food poisoning. Ironically, it was his late replacement Joel Hodgson whose goalkicking and all-round performance was to prove the difference between the two sides.
Michael Young
© NRB
The early signs were not encouraging. After Hodgson had kicked a penalty to give Newcastle the lead on three minutes, Willi Heinz’ pass sent in Jason Woodward on the blindside after 14 minutes to give the home side the lead (5-3). The visitors soaked up further pressure before fashioning an outstanding try of their own. Scrum-half Michael Young fielded Heinz’s towering kick in his own half and set off on a weaving run towards the line before sending in Ally Hogg for the try. Hodgson converted and the Falcons led 10-5. He added two further penalties before the break (16-3).
Seven minutes into the second half Gloucester’s David Halaifonua, who had been sin binned in the first half for a tackle which put Sinoti Sinoti out of the game, and which many thought worthy of a red card, added insult to injury when he crossed for a try in the corner (16-10).
Three minutes later Young scored a try after Will Welch had won a turnover, and whilst Hodgson was on this occasion unsuccessful with the conversion, the lead was now 11 points (21-10).
For the rest of the game Newcastle defended as though their lives depended on it, but with 15 minutes remaining an Atkinson try reduced the arrears to within a single score (21-15), and when Lewis Ludlow scored the bonus point try the lead was down to a single point with the conversion to come. Fortunately, Billy Twelvetrees was no more successful from the tee than Burns had been, and that was that. The team that day was:
S.Hammersley; V.Goneva; C.Harris; J.Matavesi; S.Sinoti (rep. M.Mermoz 26); J.Hodgson; M.Young (rep. T.Takulua 67); S.Lockwood (rep. T.Davison 62); K.Cooper (rep. S.Lawson 62); J.Welsh (rep. S.Wilson 62); C.Green; S.Robinson (rep. W.Witty 63); A.Hogg (rep. C.Chick 67); W.Welch; N.Latu
NOVEMBER 12, 2022: GLOUCESTER 21-27 NEWCASTLE
Newcastle managed to do the double over Gloucester in the 2022-23 season, and both victories were heroic affairs, having regard to issues with discipline.
Newcastle secured a notable victory, their most recent away from home, despite losing four players to the sin bin as they defended a lead built up in the first half with the benefit of a strong end-to-end wind.
A trademark weaving run from half-way by Adam Radwan was followed by an outstanding finish in the corner to open the scoring on six minutes. Brett Connon converted superbly from the right-hand touchline, and he was on target again with a conversion of Callum Chick’s try six minutes later (14-0).
He added a penalty on 33 minutes (17-0). The third try came almost immediately as the visitors secured the ball from the kick-off and advanced up field to set up a line-out five metres out. To the surprise of no-one hooker George McGuigan touched down from the resulting maul, and Connon’s conversion made it 24-0 with Gloucester yet to fire a shot.
Knowing that they would have the wind at their backs in the second half, Gloucester finally opened their account on 37 minutes when Tom Seabrook scored from a set move at a five metre line-out. George Barton converted, but the half-time lead was still a healthy 17 points (24-7).
The second half was largely one-way traffic as Gloucester camped in the Newcastle half. Crucially, the defence held out until the 62nd minute. With McGuigan in the sin bin for pulling down a maul – a clear case of mistaken identity – Gloucester parked themselves on the Newcastle line. The pressure eventually told as Sean Robinson joined McGuigan in the bin, and Gloucester’s replacement lock Cam Jordan took advantage of the extra space to score. Barton converted and the gap was down to 10 (24-14).
Tom Penny
© NRB
As the match entered its final ten minutes Newcastle somehow managed to work their way upfield to win a penalty which Connon converted to provide some breathing space (27-14).
Gloucester returned to the attack from the kick-off and Chick became the third Newcastle player to receive a yellow card, leaving the pack significantly under powered. Gloucester were awarded a penalty try when Tom Penny was adjudged to have dropped a maul to earn himself ten minutes in the by-now-well-warmed sin bin. Back Down to 13 men, the visitors managed to cling on and won a turnover penalty in added time to secure the win. The Newcastle team that day was:
E.Obatoyinbo; A.Radwan; B.Stevenson; T.Penny; N.Earle (rep. J.Blamire 56); B.Connon; M.Young (rep.S.Stuart 72); L.Mulipola (rep. A.Brocklebank 50); G.McGuigan; R.Palframan (rep. M.Tampin 58); G.Merrick (rep. G.Peterson 60); S.de Chaves; F.Lockwood (rep. S.Robinson 50); G.Pepper; C.Chick
MARCH 24, 2023: NEWCASTLE 17-12 GLOUCESTER
The return match at Kingston Park was a much less frenetic affair as the home side ground out a victory, despite having to play for more than hour with 14 men following Richard Palframan’s 17th minute red card.
Gloucester had scored first when hooker Seb Blake forced his way over from a close range tap penalty on 6 minutes (0-5). Newcastle responded six minutes later when Elliott Obatoyinbo went on a jinking run before releasing Adam Radwan, who ran in for his now customary the try against Gloucester. Brett Connon converted from wide out (7-5).
Within a minute of Palframan’s red card for a dangerous tackle the visitors were back in front when Ollie Thorley was the beneficiary of a set piece move to score. Santiago Carreras converted and Gloucester led 12-7. Remarkably Newcastle managed to prevent a Gloucester side including Louis Rees-Zammit from scoring again, through some brilliant scramble defence. Connon reduced the lead to two (10-12) with a penalty on the stroke of half-time.
Adam Radwan
© NRB
The home side spent much of the second half on the back foot, but the only score of the half came on 64 minutes when a cross-field kick found Obatoyinbo, who beat off the challenge of Santi Carreras to touch down, Connon’s conversion making it 17-12. The Newcastle team that day was:
E.Obatoyinbo; A.Radwan; M.Moroni; M.Orlando (rep. B.Stevenson 31); M.Carreras; B.Connon; M.Young (rep. S.Stuart 70); A.Brocklebank (rep. L.Mulipola 54); J.Blamire (rep. O.Fletcher 36); R.Palframan; G.Peterson; S.de Chaves; P.Rubiolo (rep. F.Lockwood) C.Chick; C.Fearns (rep. M.Tampin 34).
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