Gloucester Rugby took a notable scalp on Sunday afternoon when they defeated French Top 14 champions Castres Olympique in the Heineken Champions Cup. Tom Marshall made the break that led to Callum Braley’s try and saw him win the 1873 Club Outstanding Moment.

Following the game Tom came into the Abbey Business Lounge alongside team mates Mark Atkinson and Josh Hohneck, and took part in the post-match Q&A for 1873 Club Members, hosted by former Gloucester back row forward Simon Devereux.

Tom was then presented with the award by Devs who then provided the following summary of the match.

“This was a dominant performance against the reigning French Top 14 champions, where the final score did not reflect Gloucester’s territorial dominance against a resilient Castres defence.

“Gloucester started with intent, electing to play the ball through the hands in wet conditions. This set the tone for the match with Gloucester dominating possession but missing some accuracy at key moments in attack. They were harshly treated having a try disallowed by the TMO after good awareness from Callum Braley put Gloucester through down the blindside from distance. Replays confirmed this was a poor TMO decision in the first quarter.

“Gloucester’s energy and attacking intent were rewarded near half time when they deservedly registered a seven point lead with a converted try, after Tom Marshall showed good vision to breach the defence.

“Gloucester started the second half well going through multiple phases in attack. They were intelligent in resisting the temptation to kick for the corner from the ensuing penalties. The six points registered from the third quarter to lead 19-6 proved crucial and showed maturity of thought during a key stage of the match.

“The scrum was strong providing quick ball against a big pack looking to exert pressure. This enabled Ben Morgan to break the gain line from the base on several occasions and keep Gloucester on the front foot.

“With an eight point lead, Gloucester were guilty of playing too much through the forwards in their own half. It seemed a long kick down field, especially in the conditions, would have forced the opposition to come from deep when chasing the game.

“Castres capitalised on Gloucester errors and could have won it at the end from lineout and scrum positions in the corner. Gloucester’s forwards adjusted well from the initial contact to repel the lineout before forcing a penalty at the resulting scrum. This period showed the character and work rate evolving throughout the squad. It was a good performance against quality opposition in the toughest of European Cup groups.”

Tom Marshall wins the 1873 Club Outstanding Moment at the Castres game

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