Gloucester 26-31 Northampton: Saints score three tries in ten minutes to claim a bonus point victory

There was a chill in the air on Kingsholm Road, but it did not stop a lone Cherry and Whites supporter from waiting outside the stadium to vent his frustrations.

He heckled his team from over the low brick wall, after Gloucester’s fifth Premiership defeat in a row left them rooted to the bottom of the table.

Other than a defiant European victory over Ulster in the December, there has been little to cheer about in this part of the West Country.

Gloucester suffered another defeat after Northampton beat them 26-13 at Kingsholm Road

The Saints scored three tries in ten minutes to claim a much-needed bonus point victory

On Saturday, they blew a second-half lead over Northampton and, from a Kingsholm perspective, ring-fencing cannot come soon enough.

‘Obviously we’re frustrated,’ said Skivington. ‘There’s no lack of hard work in training. Every time you lose a game its painful. When you’re bottom of the table, you seem to take a couple of little steps and then get a couple of little things wrong. Its hugely frustrating, of course, but our job as professional is to get on with it, chop it up, analyse it and work out what went wrong.’

Skivington singled out the set-piece as the source of Saturday’s problems.

Gloucester were picked off easily at the lineout and, outside of No 8 Ruan Ackermann, there was a lack of physical bite in the pack.

There was an entertaining kicking battle continued between Billy Twelvetrees and Biggar

Northampton have also struggled for form this season, yet they ended the afternoon with a rare bonus-point victory.

‘One swallow doesn’t make a summer, but it’s a good win for us,’ said Saints director of rugby Chris Boyd.

Gloucester took an early lead, as Billy Twelvetrees outscored Dan Biggar from the kicking tee. But Saints struck back through a 16-phase power-play. Biggar looped around a narrow Gloucester defence, before George Furbank set up Taqele Naiyaravoro to score in the corner. Furbank and Santiago Carreras both made an early minutes later, following a nasty clash of heads.

Gloucester salvaged a losing bonus point through a late Matias Alemanno try

The kicking battle continued between Twelvetrees and Biggar.

Gloucester have struggled to utilise their speedy wingers, but Ollie Thorley’s sizzling break and switch pass to set up Willi Heinz to establish an eight-point lead. It did not last long. Northampton offered more zip and deception in attack, with No 9 Alex Mitchell adding his energy around the ruck. Rory Hutchinson hit back with a try, before turning provider as No 8 Shaun Adendorff scored twice to secure the bonus point.

Gloucester salvaged a losing bonus point through a late Matias Alemanno try, but it was not enough to silence their critics.