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Ben Morgan crosses for Gloucester’s third try against Exeter.
Ben Morgan crosses for Gloucester’s third try against Exeter. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images
Ben Morgan crosses for Gloucester’s third try against Exeter. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images

Ben Morgan’s late try gives Gloucester space to see off Exeter Chiefs

This article is more than 5 years old

Gloucester 24-17 Exeter
Bristol 22-29 Wasps

Gloucester beat the league leaders, Exeter, at Kingsholm thanks to a Ben Morgan try three minutes from time on Friday night.

Jason Woodward and Willi Heinz scored Gloucester’s other tries while Billy Twelvetrees converted all three and kicked a penalty. Exeter’s tries came from Nic White and Tom O’Flaherty. Joe Simmonds kicked a penalty and conversion with Gareth Steenson also adding a conversion.

Gloucester had the better of the early stages before the Chiefs, with their first foray into opposition territory, took a ninth-minute lead. The visitors turned down a kick at goal in favour of a driving lineout and were rewarded when the scrum-half, White, darted over from close range. Gloucester responded with a simple penalty from Twelvetrees before Woodward knocked on when he had an unopposed 20-metre run to the try line.

Moments later, Gloucester had another opportunity when Ruan Ackermann burst away from a maul but the flanker delayed his pass to Franco Mostert and the chance was lost.

After 26 minutes the home side’s pressure was rewarded when a well-judged cross-field kick from Danny Cipriani was superbly collected by Ollie Thorley, whose inside pass allowed Woodward to race over.

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Twelvetrees converted from the touchline before his side threw away another golden opportunity when hooker Franco Marais knocked on five metres out, leaving Gloucester with just a narrow 10-7 lead at the end of a half they had totally controlled.

After the interval Exeter suffered a blow when Ian Whitten left the field with an injury but they overcame this setback to draw level with a penalty from Simmonds but, within minutes, Gloucester were back in front when Heinz crashed over following a driving lineout and sustained pressure.

Another flowing move from Gloucester saw Thorley narrowly denied before Exeter rang the changes in an attempt to reverse their fortunes, with Steenson coming on at fly-half and Simmonds switching to full-back. It paid dividends when a well-timed pass from Steenson sent Matt Kvesic through a hole in the home defence and the former Gloucester player sent O’Flaherty over in the corner.

Steenson converted to leave the scores level at 17-17 with 15 minutes left. Twelvetrees missed with two angled 35-metre penalty attempts before Thorley’s creative running finally set up the winning try for Morgan.

Wasps moved back into the play-off positions after edging out Bristol 29-22 in an Ashton Gate thriller.

The Wales flanker Thomas Young, the hooker Tom Cruse and No 8 Nizaam Carr scored first-half tries to put the visitors in control. When a bonus point score arrived 12 minutes into the second half, following Will Rowlands capitalising on a Bristol handling blunder to cross unopposed, it looked done and dusted for Wasps.

But Bristol, 16 points adrift at half-time, had other ideas as tries from the scrum-half Harry Randall, centre Piers O’Conor and substitute Charles Piutau threatened a spectacular fightback.

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