Gloucester’s phase play, certainly in the first half, looked as fluid and well-marshalled as it has done all season. On the back of that, May was stopped two metres short before Carreras dotted down nonchalantly in the corner. The Argentine converted his own touchline score.
With ground to make up, Bath mirrored Gloucester’s first-half opening, throwing the kitchen sink at the hosts. The issue, with the pressure of a 10-point deficit, was Gloucester’s defensive conviction. But eventually the dam burst.
Given his excellence, that it was Carreras who was bumped and swatted by try-scorer Muir was cruel. The Bath wing hurled down the left and finished in the corner. Russell converted, putting a finger to his mouth to quieten the vociferous Shed on his way back to the restart.
The momentum was shifting in Bath’s favour – rapidly. Du Toit, the South Africa international, arrived off the bench with purpose, winning a holding-on penalty and surging over from close in to give the visitors the lead for the first time.
Gloucester were in trouble – and May’s sideways crabbing did not help. Bath swarmed the England wing and, a scrum penalty later, Obano was mirroring Du Toit’s finish. A penalty try for a collapsed maul followed, and the tables had well and truly turned.
Matias Alemanno crashed over from close range to liven up the finale, but it was too little, too late for the hosts. Lawrence’s second try at the death ensured that the Bath hit-and-run was complete.
Match details
Gloucester: S Carreras; J May, C Harris, S Atkinson, O Thorley; G Barton, S Varney; M Vivas, G McGuigan, F Balmain, F Clarke, M Alemanno, J Clement, L Ludlow (c), A Tuisue. Replacements: S Socino, J Ford-Robinson, K Gotovtsev, F Thomas, B Donnell, M Young, M Llewellyn, L Rees-Zammit.
Bath: T de Glanville; J Cokanasiga, O Lawrence, M Ojomoh, W Muir; F Russell, B Spencer (c); B Obano, T Dunn, W Stuart, F Lee-Warner, C Ewels, M Reid, S Underhill, A Barbeary. Replacements: N Annett, J Schoeman, T du Toit, J McNally, J Coetzee, T Carr-Smith, S Harris, M Gallagher.
Referee: M Carley