Marcel Shines as Gloucester Whip Showgirls

By MHIAS
September 22 2002

In the first West-Country derby of the season Gloucester ripped apart Bristol and showed the world the talents of youngster Marcel Garvey live on Sky TV. He scored a hat-trick to help Gloucester to a comfortable 45-18 victory after a strong second half from the Cherry-and-Whites.

All 20-odd Bristol fans who could be bothered to make the small trip down to Kingsholm must have been pretty dissapointed, especcially as it was their third straight loss this season. Despite such a small away following, they did manage to make up a team for the tug of war, though they lost that as well. 10,100 people viewed the onslaught as Gloucester strengthened their lead at the top of the table.

Bristol actually started the better, with some strong attacking phases. New boy Daryl Gibson seemed to control the moves, and looked like a good signing for the Shoguns. Their first score came when Brendon Daniel got hold of the ball by the Gloucester 10 metre line and he broke through after some lacklustre defending and a poor attempted tackle from Henry Paul. Contepomi did what he does best and added the extra 2.

Bristol continued to attack, and nearly scored again but they ended up with just a penalty, which Contepomi converted to stretch the lead to 10 points.

Things started to go pear shaped for Bristol though when Daryl Gibson went of injured as well as Ross Beattie. Gloucester started to pressurise, and from a Bristol scrum Andy Gomarsall caught Pichot which resulted in a Gloucester penalty. Mercier put it over to put the first Gloucester points on the board, the first of many.

The next score was one of the best individual tries I have ever seen at Kingsholm. Marcel Garvey had already shown some promise with some neat little runs, but they were nothing compared to what came next. He picked up the ball on the right wing and ran towards the Bristol pack, with little space and no speed. He cleverly rolled and side stepped his way through most of the Bristol team before accelerating through a gap to score under the posts. Ludo converted.

After a Bristol penalty converted by Contepomi, Gloucester, and Garvey, scored again. It was after sustained flowing pressure, and a try seemed inevitable. The ball was spread wide with some clever passing and trickery. Paramore stormed towards the line and as he drew the tackler he popped a pass of to Marcel Garvey who scored. However, televison replays show that the ball was actually dropped, though we won't go in to that!

Mercier missed the conversion, but put over a penalty before half time to go in to the break with a lead of 18-13.

Bristol again put in as much effort as possible when the came back out. However, Nigel's game plan again worked brilliantly. It seems that he wears down the opposition in the first half, with raw power, before ripping apart the opposition with flair and pace.

It must have been frustrating for Bristol, despite pressurising for long periods it was Gloucester who would score. They did so first in the second half with a penalty from Mercier. They then stretched the lead even further with another try. This time Jake Boer was the man to score as he charged through a gap and over the line.

If there was ever a chance for Bristol to try and get something out of the game it was after their try from Gareth Archer. He collapsed over the line after even more attacking pressure, but Contepomi's kick went a long way wide.

The next Gloucester try was one of the best team tries I have seen at Castle Grim. After even more pressure and attacking strength from Bristol, Gloucester broke away through Azam and Henry Paul. Forrester then claimed the ball and ran a fair distance, before Henry Paul again had the ball. It was spread to Delboy who passed out wide to Junior Paramore (I will from now on call him "big Pete"), who went over in the corner.

This try secured the match for Gloucester, but they were hungry for more and a bonus point seemed certain. The try which rewarded Gloucester with the bonus point was another piece of individual brilliance from garver. He broke down the right wing, drew the last man and chipped over his head, before out pacing him to claim the ball and score.

But that was not the final try. That came from Ludovic Mercier, who went through a gap in the tired Bristol defence, just managing to reach the line.

Calls of "Garvey Garvey Garvey" echoed from the shed along with chants of "Garvey for England". Don't be suprised if there is another Gloucester player playing for England in the World Cup next year.

Final Score: Gloucester 45-18 Bristol