Forrester chops down weak Bristol with hat-trick

Bristol 21 Gloucester 38

There is not much separating these two clubs off the pitch – both have serious financial problems. But the riches that Zurich Premiership leaders Gloucester displayed on the pitch left their West Country cousins looking like a bunch of beggars.

Odd that, since off the field Bristol, the one-time trend-setters in the game, launched an appeal last week to raise £1m. However much is dropped into that particular begging bowl, they will not find relegation rivals generous in the run-in.

There were moments in yet another high-scoring game when Gloucester threatened to pile up a cricket score, as it was their rampant No 8, James Forrester, the England A player, collected a brilliant hat-trick in the six-try spree.

Forrester though was aided by a marked reluctance on the part of Bristol to put in their first-up tackles. The back three were rounded time and again, the midfield missed their men just as often. They also missed their playmaker at centre, Daryl Gibson. The former All Black limped off in the 12th minute with a dodgy right knee.

But it was no better at the set piece. The first scrum saw the home pack splintered by the Gloucester eight. The line-out gave Bristol some consolation, with their captain, Garath Archer, and his second row partner in arms, Alex Brown, competing in uncompromising fashion.

There were other individual noteworthies, such as Phil Christophers, whose stunning running rewarded the England wing with a magnificent first-half try, and the scrum-half Agustin Pichot was forever urging and harrying around the fringes. But it was too little. Forrester had scored his first two tries inside 10 minutes, having rounded the winger David Rees for the opening score and covering 45 metres at searing pace in the process. His second highlighted Bristol's defensive problems early on as Forrester thundered through three attempted tackles.

His back row colleague Andy Hazell, who had an outstanding match until he was taken off with ligament damage to his left knee which will almost certainly rule him out the remaining England A matches against Scotland and Ireland, also got into the scoring act with a run down the right wing after he had left the full-back Lee Best floundering.

Marcel Garvey scored yet again – he scored a hat-trick against Bristol in the match at Kingsholm earlier this season – another well-taken touchdown that finished off a well-worked threequarter move.

Jake Boer suffered a nasty cut below his right eye after apparently tangling with Archer, the pair of them dismissed to the sin-bin for fighting, but Boer was able to return after being stitched up. The Bristol blindside Matt Salter was also shown a yellow card for some dark deed on Forrester and although Shane Drahm, Gibson's replacement landed a penalty and scored a late try, Bristol were already a poor second.

Bristol: Tries Christophers, Drahm; Conversion Contepomi; Penalties Contepomi 2, Drahm. Gloucester: Tries Forrester 3, Hazell, Mercier, Garvey; Conversions Mercier 4.

Bristol: L Best; D Rees, A Higgins, D Gibson (S Drahm, 12), P Christophers; F Contepomi, A Pichot; A Sheridan, S Nelson, D Crompton (P Johnstone, 68), G Archer (capt), A Brown, M Salter, R Beattie (R Oakley, 74), M Lipman.

Gloucester: T Delport; M Garvey, J Simpson-Daniel, H Paul (C Catling, 71), T Beim; L Mercier, A Gomarsall; T Woodman, O Azam (C Fortey, 49), A Deacon, A Eustace (E Pearce, 68), M Cornwell, J Boer (capt), J Forrester, A Hazell (J Paramore, 40).

Referee: S Lander (Liverpool).