Bristol Bears played the role of the spoilers on Friday night as winger Toby Fricker scored the biggest try of his life with 90 seconds remaining to leave Gloucester Rugby's play-off hopes on a knife-edge.
In a performance full of defiant spirit, Bristol ground past Gloucester 29-28 at Ashton Gate to lift the Rifles Cup in yet another captivating derby contest.
Tries from Harry Thacker, Andy Uren and a Toby Fricker brace was enough to push the hosts past their West Country rivals by a solitary point.
Gloucester scored through Charlie Chapman, Louis Rees-Zammit, Chris Harris and Jack Singleton to earn what might prove to be a vital attacking bonus point, but their efforts would be ultimately overcome in the closing minutes after some squandered chances in the second half.
The Cherry and Whites are now tied on 62 points and 21 games played with fourth place Exeter Chiefs, but behind in fifth due to games won, with the Devon side having won 12 to Gloucester's 11.
READ MORE: Bristol Bears v Gloucester Rugby LIVE: Reaction as Toby Fricker try earns late win for Bristol
It was fair to say last week’s European defeat to Sale may have lit a fire under the Bears, as the pack mauled their way over in the opening minutes for Thacker to touch down.
Moments later the breaking Steven Luatua’s inside pass sent Andy Uren over to double the host’s lead, before Callum Sheedy’s penalty extended the advantage to 17-points.
But as so often has been the case with the Bears the purple patch did not last long for the hosts, as Gloucester responded in fury as Louis Rees-Zammit broke down the outside before offloading to Charlie Chapman for the five pointer.
George Skivington’s men’s momentum carried them over for a second, as the near-static Louis Rees-Zammit steamed through a gap to out-pace Toby Fricker around the outside.
The Cherry and White’s charge was prolonged as Chris Harris’ pass to Freddie Clarke out wide was returned to the Scotland international to give his side the lead to overcome the significant deficit.
With a near second for Thacker ruled out after an intervention from the television match official who spotted a knock on, Gloucester had managed to go convincingly behind before performing a Lazarean recovery in the space of just 40 minutes.
After a deadlock for most of the second half that allowed the sides to flex their defensive muscles, including a gnarly hold up from Chris Harris on Uren, the game sprang back to life with the sin-binning of Freddie Clarke for a cynical knockdown of a pass.
Bristol instantly took advantage, as a momentous Sam Bedlow offload allowed Dan Thomas to break and pass inside to send in Toby Fricker uncontested.
The game took yet another turn as Bedlow, mere moments after his heroics, was given his marching orders after making both a high and late tackle on Adam Hastings, as his shoulder collided with the Scotland international’s head.
Gloucester responded quickly, as Jack Singleton charged over from short range after a couple of pick-and-go phases to reclaim the lead for the visitors.
But the game had one final twist, with Bristol working their way into the visitor’s 22 before shipping it wide to Fricker who did well to charge past both Ollie Thorley and power through the tackle of Santiago Carreras to put the hosts up by a solitary point in the biggest moment of his career.
The Bears claimed the following kick off through Piers O'Conor to see off the closing moments and earn a well-deserved five-point victory.
Skivington will rue some missed opportunities in the second half, as Bristol’s stubborn defence proved too much to overcome.
The defeat will sting for Gloucester, who firmly remain in the hunt for play-off rugby but desperately need some more points on the board to stake a firm claim for that final spot with several rivals encroaching more with each given round.
The Cherry and Whites face another derby contest next weekend, as arch-rivals Bath visit Kingsholm in a must-win game for Gloucester.
Bristol meanwhile face a visit to league leaders Leicester Tigers, as they hope to steal some more points from another of the Premiership’s leading teams.
Bristol Bears: 15. Luke Morahan, 14. Toby Fricker, 13. Piers O’Conor, 12. Antoine Frisch, 11. Alapati Leiua, 10. Callum Sheedy, 9. Andy Uren; 1. Jake Woolmore, 2. Harry Thacker, 3. John Afoa, 4. Ed Holmes, 5. Chris Vui, 6. Steven Luatua (c), 7. Sam Jeffries, 8. Fitz Harding.
Replacements: 16. Jake Kerr, 17. Jono Benz-Salomon, 18. Jake Armstrong, 19. Joe Joyce, 20. Dan Thomas, 21. Harry Randall, 22. Sam Bedlow, 23. Jack Bates.
Gloucester Rugby: 15. Santiago Carreras, 14. Louis Rees-Zammit, 13. Chris Harris, 12. Mark Atkinson, 11. Ollie Thorley, 10. Adam Hastings, 9. Charlie Chapman, 1. Val Rapava-Ruskin, 2. Santiago Socino, 3. Fraser Balmain, 4. Freddie Clarke, 5. Matias Alemanno, 6. Jordy Reid, 7. Lewis Ludlow, 8. Ruan Ackermann.
Replacements: 16. Jack Singleton, 17. Harry Elrington, 18. Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19. Andrew Davidson, 20. Ben Morgan, 21. Ben Meehan, 22. Billy Twelvetrees, 23. Tom Seabrook.
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Joe James and Jonathan Healy
TMO: Claire Hodnett
Citing officer: Grant Seely
