2009 ends on a sorry note for battered Glaws

Losing to Bath is always difficult for anybody connected with Gloucester to take. But when the defeat is a deserved one at the hands of a Bath side which hardly ranks as one of their best over the years, it becomes even more difficult. Add the fact that the performance was bad enough top put the wind up all at Kingsholm, and you have a very unhappy endi to 2009.

The first team to lose at the Rec in the Guinness Premiership this season, Gloucester shouldn’t need to be told that having reached the halfway stage, they have a lot to do to rescue this season.
But in case anybody needs a further reminder, just look at the result at Kingston Park, where bottom club Leeds had a single-point win to demonstrate that they are far from dead and buried.
The League table shows Glaws in eighth place, but they are only six ahead of Leeds and a mere two ahead of a second-bottom Bath side buoyed up by Sunday’s 24-8 win.
Let’s not beat about the bush, look for excuses or start to search for consolations – this is now a full-blown, 100 per cent, genuine crisis and if there is a panic button at Kingsholm, now is the time to hit it - not when we are bottom.
Glaws coach Bryan Redpath told the BBC: "The first half was a bit of a stalemate, and the whole game never really ignited.”

So far so good, Bryan.
He added: "Credit to Bath. Nicky Little slotted his penalties, they took their chances and they deserved the victory.”
Again, that’s just about spot on.
He concluded: "We never had a great set-piece game to attack from, and you can't give cheap points away, which I thought we did. It was very frustrating."
Yep, that’s right as well.
But it’s not so much what he DID say, more what he didn’t mention.
He didn’t mention that the first half was rubbish and was yelling for one of the team to take hold of it. Neither did, until the second half when bath took control and totally outplayed (repeat, TOTALLY OUTPLAYED) Gloucester.

Nicky Robinson had kicked a first half penalty for Glaws, and Alasdair Dickinson’s late try was no more than a consolation after Jack Cuthbert and Matt Banahan had crossed for Bath.

A poor game, and awful afternoon for Glaws.