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Cipriani-inspired Gloucester thrash Tigers
By Liam Blackburn
Danny Cipriani marked his return from a three-game ban by inspiring Gloucester to a 36-13 home victory over Leicester Tigers.
The fly-half had served a suspension for a high tackle against Munster but showed no sign of any rust as he played a pivotal role in three of their five tries.
Jason Woodward, Matt Banahan, former Leicester prop Fraser Balmain and Ollie Thorley all crossed in the opening 46 minutes.
Star man Cipriani was taken off before Thorley added a cherry on top with a glorious late try.
The Tigers were shorn of George Ford, who will captain England against Japan on Saturday, and their points came through Mike Williams' converted try and a pair of Joe Ford penalties, with the Cherry and Whites going up to third in the Premiership table.
Cipriani's one-handed flick to Mark Atkinson helped him break through Leicester's line before he found Woodward for the opening score.
And it was Cipriani whose flat pass helped Banahan touch down in the corner for Gloucester's second try.
Balmain bundled over from close range before half-time and Gloucester had a bonus point when Cipriani fed Thorley to break through and dot down early in the second period.
A brilliant would-be Gloucester try - which featured a no-look pass from Cipriani in the build-up - was chalked off for a forward pass, but Thorley broke from deep in his own half with two minutes to go to score the pick of the bunch and cap a comprehensive Gloucester success.
In the evening's other game, Harlequins beat Newcastle 20-7 to keep the Falcons bottom of the division.
Alex Dombrandt and Francis Saili went over either side of the interval for Quins and Andrew Davidson's 67th-minute try proved to be only a consolation for the visitors.
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Latest Comments
The difference between Fassi and Le Roux?
Almost 100 tests. Fassi is growing from test to test and is already world class. It’s going to be difficult for Damian Willemse to usurp Fassi at 15 and may find himself destined as the utility back on the bomb squad.
South Africans love hating on their fullback. A proud tradition since Percy Montgomery (before he won us a World Cup). So I don’t pay much mind to the noise that follows anyone who puts on the 15 jersey for SA.
15 is a high risk, low reward position. You don’t dare drop a high ball, certainly don’t shank a kick into the stands. In fact if you’re not kicking 60m torpedoes into the opposition corners - stay at home.
And miss tackles? After everyone else on the team has let a break through - best you not miss!
Only Andre Joubert strikes me as a fullback that has been better than Willie. Yet Willie has been widely panned on a regular basis. Irritating.
Fassi is great. And I’m sure he’s learning a lot from Willie.
Go to commentsNo, Penney's win rate as a Super Rugby coach BEFORE he was given a 2 year contract here, was 23%. He came in with a very poor success rate at SR level.
This loser vibe was borne out over the SR season where we won only 4 games while losing 10. Finishing 9th in a 12 team competition & missing a QF spot was next level DOWN.
There's zero evidence that suggests we will win 10 games (70%) as you predict. I understand there may be new assistant coaches coming on board. At this stage, we can only hope for the best.
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