Gloucester Rugby v Bath Rugby Saturday 10th May 3pm
Current Form
· What a fixture to save for the last day of the league programme. This is effectively a play-off match for top spot in the Guinness Premiership. Dependent on the results here and at Headingley on Saturday, both these teams could be at home in the Premiership semi-finals or just the winning team.
· Gloucester had a magnificent result last Saturday and brought to an end the 8 match winning streak of London Wasps with a 25-17 win at Adams Park.
· This was the first time they had beaten Wasps away in league rugby and obviously the first time they have completed a league double against them. Gloucester remain top of the Premiership, 2 points ahead of Bath
· Gloucester have played 10 matches at home this season, winning 9 and losing to Leicester.
· Bath equalled the highest score of the season with a 66-21 victory against Heineken Cup semi-finalists Saracens at the Rec last Saturday. They are now only 2 points behind Gloucester.
· Bath have played 10 matches away from home this season, winning 5 and losing 5.
History
· Gloucester and Bath have met 25 times in league rugby dating back to 1995.
· Gloucester have won 7 and Bath 16 with 2 games ending in a draw.
· Both drawn games ended 21-21, in April 2007 and September 2002.
· Gloucester have never completed a league double against Bath.
· Bath have completed a league double over Gloucester on 5 occasions.
· The teams have met 12 times in league matches at Kingsholm, Gloucester winning 7 to Bath’s 5.
· Bath have scored 649 points in league matches against Gloucester, more than any other club has scored against them.
· Gloucester beat Bath 68-12 at Kingsholm in May 2002, the respective club’s biggest win and heaviest defeat ever in the Premiership.
· Gloucester lost 45-29 to Bath at Kingsholm in September 1996, the most points they have ever conceded in a Premiership home fixture.
· Bath beat Gloucester 71-21 at the Recreation Ground in April 1997.
· Bath beat Gloucester 10-5 at the Rec in January this year.
Trends and Trivia
· Gloucester have now scored 64 tries this season, the most by any team in the Premiership. The most tries Gloucester have scored in a Premiership season is 68 in both 1999/00 and 2001/02.
· Gloucester scored 32 tries in their 11 away matches this season, again the most by any team in the Premiership. They have only ever beaten this total once before, in 1999/00 when they scored 33.
· Gloucester have accumulated 14 bonus points from their 21 matches this season, the most by any team in the division.
· Gloucester’s average home attendance this season is 13811. Their highest gate was 16500 against Bristol and lowest 11753 for the visit of Leeds.
· Ryan Lamb has scored 149 points for Gloucester this season. Lesley Vainikolo has scored 9 tries and James Simpson-Daniel 8.
· Anthony Allen and Peter Buxton have both played in 19 of Gloucester’s 21 Premiership matches this season.
· Olivier Azam and Jordan Crane of Leicester are the only two forwards to score 5 tries this season.
· Bath beat Saracens 66-21 last Saturday, the highest scoring game in the Premiership this season. The previous highest aggregate was 76 points in the Bath versus London Wasps game, also at the Recreation Ground, a game Bath lost 42-34. This was the highest score Bath have ever conceded in a home Premiership match, previously 40 points, also to Wasps, in 1996.
· The 66 points scored by Bath against Saracens equalled the 66 scored by Saracens against Leeds in March. This was Bath’s highest score in a Premiership match since beating Rotherham 68-12 in April 2001.
· Olly Barkley scored 31 points for Bath last Saturday. This is a Premiership individual points scoring record for Bath previously held by Barkley at 27 points against Rotherham in October 2003. He was only one point behind the most ever points scored by an individual in the Premiership which is 32 and is shared between Niall Woods of London Irish and Tim Stimpson of Leicester.
· The 31 points is the highest score by an individual this season beating the 25 of Lesley Vainikolo as a result of his 5 tries on the opening day of the season at Leeds.
· Olly Barkley scored 9 conversions on Saturday which is the most by any player this season beating the 8 scored by Glen Jackson for Saracens against Leeds. He was only one short of the Bath record of 10 in league rugby held by Stuart Barnes against Bedford in January 1990.
· Bath have won 15 matches this season, the most by any team in the Premiership. Only once in the last 10 seasons have they won more than 15 matches in a Premiership season, with 18 in 2003/04.
· Bath have scored 59 tries this season, only Gloucester with 64 and Wasps with 61 have scored more.
· Bath have scored 520 points this season, the most by them since 2000/01 when they scored 680.
· Olly Barkley has scored 167 points for Bath this season and Matt Banahan has 10 tries.
· Shaun Berne, Michael Claassens and Peter Short have all appeared in 20 of Bath’s 21 Premiership matches this season. |
