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Gloucester boss George Skivington hailed hat-trick hero Christian Wade after his team beat Bristol 44-41 in a Gallagher Premiership thriller at Ashton Gate.
Wade was yellow-carded late in the action amid a storming Bristol fightback, but he also showed his class with a treble that took his Premiership career try tally to 85.
Wade, back in the Premiership after six years away in the NFL and then a spell with French club Racing 92, highlighted his finishing prowess in all its glory.
Skivington said: “We knew there would be a grace period with Wadey where it would take him a bit of time to get back into the Premiership.
“I can say nothing but good about him. We want him to score tries, and tonight hopefully that gets the ball rolling.
“He trains hard and works hard. He’s just a good bloke.”
Wade, meanwhile, told TNT Sports: “I definitely enjoyed it. I don’t know how long it’s been since I last played here.
“It was great to be out here and to get the win. I am not quite happy with the way we did it, but happy to get the win.
“This year, we want to improve on our Premiership performances. It’s a new team, we’ve got a new energy and hopefully it can be the start of something.”
Gloucester looked home and dry when they led by 19 points with only 15 minutes left, but three quickfire Bristol tries tied things up before full-back George Barton held his nerve to kick a 78th-minute penalty.
Lock Freddie Thomas and fly-half Gareth Anscombe also crossed for Gloucester, while Barton converted all five tries and booted three penalties for a 19-point haul.
Bristol ended with two bonus points - Max Malins (two), Siva Naulago, Harry Randall, Gabriel Ibitoye and Rich Lane scored tries - and AJ MacGinty kicked 11 points, but Gloucester were not to be denied.
Skivington said: “I think the boys were brave. They backed themselves, playing another team that were also brave and backed themselves, so it was always going to swing both ways.
“The big thing for me was the character shown. We could have folded last week (against Saracens), and we didn’t, and today there were some helter-skelter moments and you have got to stick together and fight hard. I thought we deserved the win.”
Bristol rugby director Pat Lam admitted the game had proved a rollercoaster ride.
“It was a good game for the neutral as both sides wanted to play,” he said “They recruited well in Anscombe and (Tomos) Williams, and they drove it really well.
“We got off to a good start, but then came the yellow cards (for Naulago and Randall), and we ended up playing catch-up.
“We got ourselves into trouble, but nearly got ourselves out of it. Some of the tries we gave away weren’t great, and we will have to shore it up.
“Some of the boys in the dressing room are a bit annoyed with a few things, and both sides won’t be happy with their defence.”
PA
