Bath and Gloucester get to know one another in mass brawl at the Rec

by Editor on 21/02/12 at 8:00 pm

Gloucester beat Bath 14-11 in muddy conditions in what was a typically fiesty West Country Aviva Premiership derby at the Rec on Saturday. The tone was set early on, with two players being sent to the sin-bin to cool off after a mass brawl erupted.

Young replacement flyhalf Ryan Mills kicked the winning penalty late in the game as Gloucester picked up an away win over their rivals. Played in rain and mud from the onset, this was always going to be an old school battle up front and that’s exactly how it started out, with the big guys sparking things off, then the rest of the players joining in.

Gloucester’s lock Jim Hamilton and Bath’s lock Ryan Caldwell appeared to exchange words after the scrum, possibly about something that happened there that can’t be seen on camera. It resulted in Caldwell and his locking partner unleashing on Hamilton, and it went downhill from there.

Punches were thrown from more than a handful of players, although it was difficult to see how many actually landed. In the end referee Wayne Barnes and his assistants agreed that yellow carding just Hamilton and Caldwell was the best way to deal with the altercation.

On the way to the sideline it looked as though it could kick-off again, but common sense prevailed. Off the ball niggles continued throughout the game though, but this was biggest of them.

Check out the related posts below the video for more mass brawls from the archive

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