Zach Mercer puts on ANOTHER clinic as Gloucester stun Leicester while leaders Northampton hammered by Bristol
Zach Mercer in action for Gloucester against Leicester in the Premiership in 2024.
Zach Mercer produced another stunning display as Gloucester snatched a dramatic 27-25 victory over Leicester Tigers in a dramatic contest.
The England outcast was utterly superb throughout and was a big reason for the 17-3 lead they built in the opening 35 minutes.
Mercer touched down for the opening try before Santiago Carreras added a penalty, and Chris Harris crossed the whitewash to extend their lead.
However, a slice of fortune for Leicester, which eventually led to Tommy Reffell’s score, changed the momentum of the contest and further efforts from Solomone Kata, Jasper Wiese and Jamie Shillcock put the hosts in a front with nine minutes remaining.
Gloucester’s number eight did not deserve to be on the losing side, though, and Stephen Varney’s superb late converted try won the game for the Cherry and Whites.
Mercer was duly named man of the match as he sent a message to Steve Borthwick after he was omitted from the World Cup and Six Nations squads.
Ben Earl’s performances ultimately justified Borthwick’s decision, but these types of displays will certainly put him in the picture for the New Zealand tour.
Click here for teams and scorers
A good chance to open the scoring was missed by the Tigers in the 10th minute when Freddie Steward broke through down the right, but his loose pass could not be gathered by winger Josh Bassett.
Eventually, the deadlock was broken by a simple penalty for Shillcock in the 22nd minute after Gloucester were pinged for offside in front of their own posts.
Having not had much of the ball, it was Gloucester who scored the game’s first try after 29 minutes when quick hands by Max Llewellyn and Harris led to Mercer powering through down the left.
Carreras added the conversion, and the Argentinian quickly extended the Cherry and Whites’ lead to 10-3 with a penalty from in front of the sticks.
It was now going all the visitors’ way as a crisp move following a line-out led to Carreras’ ball inside finding Harris, and the Scotland centre broke through a tackle to score Gloucester’s second try.
Carreras converted again, but Leicester gained a foothold in the final play of the first half with an unconverted try for Reffell off the back of a driving maul.
The Tigers turned around 18-7 behind, but they pulled back another five points within three minutes of the restart when centre Kata was given an armchair ride over the line by his forwards following an attacking line-out.
A Carreras penalty nudged Gloucester’s lead back out to seven points, but the hosts’ driving maul was proving lethal, with Wiese the third player to score off the back of it.
Shillcock’s missed conversion meant the gap was down to two, which remained the case following a vital turnover won under his own posts by Cherry and Whites captain Ruan Ackermann on Olly Cracknell.
But Leicester completed the comeback with eight minutes left when Wiese passed to Jack van Poortvliet, who produced a sublime offload to send Shillcock breaking clear to score.
There was time for one final twist, however, as Seb Blake offloaded to Varney 40 metres out, and the Italy scrum-half sprinted away for the try, with Carreras’ conversion snatching the win.
It had to be @Mercer8Zach 🤝
The @gloucesterrugby Number 8 shrugs off a tackle to score in the corner 🍒#GallagherPrem #LEIvGLO pic.twitter.com/umXrjtHCKE
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) March 22, 2024
Bristol demolish leaders Northampton
Leaders Northampton saw their six-game unbeaten run in the Gallagher Premiership come to a grinding halt as Bristol demolished them 52-21 at Ashton Gate.
Saints still top the table, yet a return to Premiership action after an eight-week break while the Guinness Six Nations played out went badly wrong.
It was their first league defeat since November, and they could have no complaints after Bristol stormed clear through tries from lock Joe Batley and scrum-half Harry Randall during an early points burst.
Fly-half AJ MacGinty added two conversions and a penalty before second-half scores from prop Kyle Sinckler, Batley’s second-row partner James Dun and wing Gabriel Ibitoye, plus replacements Max Malins and Fred Davies, with MacGinty landing four more conversions and James Williams one, securing Bristol a bonus-point triumph.
Bristol’s victory kept them in with a fighting chance of reaching the play-offs, but it was a night to forget for Northampton, whose points came via two Ollie Sleightholme tries, a Jake Garside touchdown and three Fin Smith conversions.
Bristol had to absorb early pressure as torrential rain swept across the ground, but they went ahead after just six minutes.
Saints scrum-half Archie McParland, making his first Premiership start, had an attempted defensive clearance kick charged down by Batley, who gathered a kind bounce and swept aside full-back George Hendy’s challenge for a try that MacGinty converted.
Bristol oozed confidence after Batley’s score and they twice went close from driven lineouts before a MacGinty penalty made it 10-0 midway through the first half.
Northampton struggled to cope with Bristol’s pace and width, and the visiting defence was then unlocked in spectacular fashion.
MacGinty made a superb break from halfway, and his inside ball to Randall sent the scrum-half on a 40-metre sprint to the line. MacGinty converted and Northampton were in all kinds of trouble.
Saints needed to score next, but, despite several attacking phases inside Bristol’s 22, they could not breach the home defence and then conceded a penalty.
Bristol had wing Siva Naulago yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on, and he had barely left the pitch before Northampton opened their account.
Sleightholme appeared as first-receiver from a lineout 20 metres from Bristol’s line and he showcased impressive strength to leave four defenders floundering, with Smith’s conversion cutting Saints’ deficit to 10 points.
Randall made another attacking surge as the interval approached, which Northampton managed to halt, then MacGinty missed an angled penalty chance that would have extended Bristol’s advantage by the break.
England prop Ellis Genge went on for Bristol early in the second period and he was soon in the thick of things as Northampton found themselves under relentless pressure.
Saints skipper Lewis Ludlam was sin-binned following the latest in a series of infringements by his team. Bristol punished them when Sinckler crashed over for a try, which MacGinty converted.
Back came Northampton, though, as Sleightholme scored his second touchdown of the game by gathering Smith’s well-placed kick and capitalising on Bristol’s sloppy defensive work.
Smith converted, yet Bristol immediately went back on the attack and their adventure was rewarded through a Dun touchdown. MacGinty’s conversion took his team past 30 points.
Northampton appeared well beaten, and Bristol’s fifth try was easy, as Malins sprinted through a huge gap. Garside’s 66th-minute touchdown was nothing more than consolation, with Davies’ score resuming normal service and Ibitoye adding a final try.
READ MORE: Owen Farrell v Marcus Smith: England fly-halves to clash in Saracens star’s milestone match
