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Gloucester's Giorgi Kveseladze challenges Leinster's James Lowe in Round 2
Gloucester Rugby will be looking to bounce back from their thrashing by Leinster Rugby when they host the unbeaten Irish province in Round 3 of the Heineken Champions Cup on Saturday.
Gloucester fielded an inexperienced side in Dublin in Round 2 and were subsequently dealt a 57-0 drubbing by the four-time champions.
But the Gallagher Premiership outfit are poised to welcome back several established stars for the reverse fixture and have already showcased their threat at Kingsholm Stadium with a 22-17 Round 1 win over Union Bordeaux-Bègles, which has left them eighth in Pool A.
Leinster, last season’s runners-up, have started this season’s competition in superb fashion, picking up maximum points from their opening games to top the pool, with their other victory an impressive 42-10 triumph at Racing 92.
Since Round 2 of the Heineken Champions Cup, Gloucester have won once in three Premiership games, while Leinster have marched to three straight victories in the United Rugby Championship.
The match kicks off at 13:00 (UK & Irish time) and will be broadcast by ITV, BT Sport, beIN SPORTS, SuperSport and FloRugby.
3️⃣ free Round 3️⃣ thrillers on TV this weekend…
📺 @gloucesterrugby 🆚 @leinsterrugby – @ITVRugby
📺 @Munsterrugby 🆚 @SaintsRugby – @RTErugby
📺 @ospreys 🆚 @MHR_officiel – @S4C #HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/mdRIxoxN6O— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 11, 2023
Key quote:
Gloucester No.8 Ben Morgan: “It’s a hard place to come – they’re going to have to be on their mettle. Again, our focus is on ourselves, make sure that we get our things right and we’ll present a challenge to them.”
Gloucester Rugby
- Ciaran Knight and Jacob Morris conceded five and four penalties respectively in the last round – the two highest individual totals. All were in defence.
- Giorgi Kveseladze made more offloads in Round 2 than any other player (4).
- Gloucester currently have the lowest success rate of the kicking tee in the competition (25%).
- Gloucester have forced more pressure errors with their kicks from hand than any other team.
Leinster Rugby
- With two in Round 2, Caelan Doris has made as many try assists as any other player in the tournament (3).
- James Lowe has made more clean breaks than any other player in the first two rounds (5).
- Dan Sheehan has thrown into more lineouts than anyone else (29) and is the only player to have made more than 12 throws without missing one.
Jamie Osbourne of Leinster Rugby scores
Leinster Rugby produced a clinical display in the Heineken Champions Cup with a 49-14 win over Gloucester Rugby at Kingsholm Stadium on Saturday.
The Irish province notched seven tries in the contest, Jordan Lamour, Michael Ala’Alatoa, Jamie Osborne, Caelan Doris, Hugo Keenan, Josh van der Flier and Rónan Kelleher all crossing the whitewash for the four-time champions as they booked their place in the Round of 16.
Gloucester did get on the scoreboard through a pair of penalty tries awarded midway through each half, but failed to maintain much of a threat against a strong Leinster outfit.
1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ Club@RonanOGara10
John Hayes@stringer9@Gordonwdarcy@ProperChurchA great moment for Cian Healy as he becomes the 5th player to reach 💯 #HeinekenChampionsCup appearances.
Congratulations to the @leinsterrugby legend 👏 pic.twitter.com/mhqsf1EL0s
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 14, 2023
Lamour opened the scoring for Leinster within four minutes. A well worked lineout out got the ball in the hands of Doris who timed his offload to perfection as Lamour scampered through to dot down.
Leinster added a second six minutes later. A simple tap and go was relayed to Ala’Alatoa under the posts – the forward crossing the whitewash untouched.
Gloucester did reply midway through the first half. The Cherry and Whites won their own lineout and produced a devastating rolling maul that was illegally brought down by the visiting Irish province – Andrew Porter earning a yellow card for foul play.
Despite being a man down, Leinster scored next through a delightful solo run by Osborne following a lineout on the right.
Then deep into added time in the first half, the visitors notched the bonus point, Doris powering over after another tap and go inside the hosts’ 22.
Leinster were soon over the whitewash once again early in the second period. A breakthrough run by James Ryan set up the move, Ross Byrne tipping a pass into the hands of Keenan who tiptoed down the sideline and across for a fifth try.
Gloucester were awarded their second penalty try of the contest midway through the second half, Doris illegally bringing down a rolling maul that was destined to cross the try line – earning the Leinster man 10 minutes in the sin bin.
But Leinster added their sixth try of the game in the final 10 minutes, van der Flier powering over from close range after a well worked lineout. A seventh followed when Kelleher crossed over from a rolling maul off the lineout, cementing the victory for the visitors.
Leinster will look to close out their Pool A campaign with four wins from four when they host Racing 92 next weekend, while Gloucester will be hoping to secure a Round of 16 berth in a must-win game against Union Bordeaux-Bègles.
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