A second half comeback, including three tries in just nine minutes, saw Gloucester Rugby record a 38-31 victory over Leicester Tigers and win back The Slater Cup.

Four tries and a late penalty to Handré Pollard meant the visitors came away with two competition points, for finishing within seven points, from the Kingsholm clash.

It was clear from the outset that the home side would be attacking with ball in hand after three attacks from inside their own half in the opening three minutes.

However, the first to look likely to score were Tigers when, in the fifth minute, left wing Ollie Hassell-Collins injected himself in attack down the right hand side and created an overlap for the visitors.

The speedster sliced through the Gloucester line but for, only two phases later, the ball to go to ground when it was moved back to the left in attack by Tigers.

But, they didn’t have to wait long for their first points when, in the ninth minute, Izaia Perese crossed for the opening try of the match.

A line out 5m out from the Gloucester line was brought down, driven forward and then moved quickly from Ben Youngs at the back of the pack to his backline, who did the rest with a well executed set play to send Perese over. Pollard converted the score to make it 0-7.

Gloucester hit back shortly after with their first when Tomos Williams scored, running a perfect support line on the inside after the home side found some holes in a stretched Tigers defence deep inside their own half. Santiago Carreras was on the mark to level it up 7-7 with his first conversion.

Approaching the 20th minute and an error from Gloucester wing Max Llewellyn silenced Kingsholm when, after taking a mark, he moved off the spot and Julián Montoya rushed the outside back, wrapped him up in a tackle and won back possession with a scrum ruled to Leicester.

From the ensuing set piece, a well worked set play ends up sending Mike Brown through untouched to score. Pollard was again on target and Leicester’s lead went back out to seven, 7-14.

Gloucester had a try overturned shortly after when an offside was found by the TMO in replays but, soon after, they had their second when Carreras crossed in the corner on the end of some slick, quick hands down the blindside. The Argentine converted his own try to level it up 14-14.

Just sixty seconds shy of the break and, on debut, Adam Radwan had his first Tigers try.

But, it was the efforts of Mike Brown who the new Tiger owed his debut score. The full-back intercepted a Gloucester attack deep inside his own half and ran almost 70m before offloading, perfectly weighted and timed, to the new wing in support.

Pollard converted to make it 14-21 with little left in the first half only for, from the restart, Gloucester to win a penalty and land a long range attempt from the tee to claw it back to 17-21.

Leicester came out firing in the second half and, just two minutes after returning to the field, secured the four-try bonus-point when Harry Wells crashed over from close range after several patiently worked phases, one off the ruck, proved too much for the home side on their line. Pollard converted to take the lead out to eleven, 17-28.

There was ten minutes before the next points were added, by the home side, but from then, the next ten saw Gloucester score three tries in quick succession.

The first to Jack Clement with a barnstorming effort, second was added by Chris Harris on the end of some impressive interplay by the Cherry and Whites and third to Seb Black on the back of a driving maul.

Carreras was on target from the tee for all three to see his side lead by ten, 38-28, on the hour mark at Kingsholm.

The point scoring slowed up once again and, with less than three minutes remaining, a long-range penalty goal from Pollard cut the deficit to seven points, 38-31, where it would remainn to see Gloucester win back The Slater Cup at home.

Mattioli Woods Welford Road will host the last senior Double Header of the 24/25 campaign next Saturday, February 1, when the women's side take on Gloucester-Hartpury in Round 16 of the PWR campaign and the men's team face Northampton Saints in the Premiership Rugby Cup.

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