Gloucester thrash sorry Quins to go top of the Prem

Gloucester secured top spot in the Premiership with a commanding victory over Harlequins. Three days after signing a new contract, fly‑half Charlie Atkinson delivered a pinpoint kick that found Ben Loader on the near side; Loader touched down for the opening score. Harlequins, striving to keep Gloucester out, lost Will Evans to the sin bin after 17 minutes. Shortly afterwards, Wales flanker Morgan drove over in the near corner to extend Gloucester's lead. On the change of half‑time, Morgan’s strong carry allowed Will Trenholm to score Gloucester’s third try from close range, and George Barton converted superbly from touch. A spectacular 50:22 from scrum‑half Caolan Englefield put Gloucester in another advantageous position; Charlie Atkinson broke a tackle to get near the sticks, and Barton kicked an easy two to give the hosts a 24‑point lead at halftime. The interval did not shift momentum. Two short passes saw Seb Atkinson score to make it Gloucester’s fifth try of the evening, and Quins’ struggles were summed up when Connor Slevin’s mediocre restart failed to travel 10 metres. Gloucester made the visitors pay when Will Joseph’s outstanding run and offload allowed Englefield to dive over. Joseph then grabbed the try his performance deserved, diving to the close of the posts to claim Gloucester’s seventh try and his third within 12 minutes after halftime. Another kick to the corner from Charlie Atkinson found Barton, who juggled successfully and managed to score Gloucester’s eighth try. Joseph thought he had scored his second with the last play of the match to take Gloucester past 50 points, but his effort was ruled out for a knock‑on in the build‑up. Gloucester: Barton; Thorley, Joseph, S. Atkinson, Loader; C. Atkinson, Englefield; Rapava‑Ruskin, Lake (capt), Fasogbon, Kleyn, Clark, Thomas, Morgan, Trenholm. Replacements: Innard, Bleuler, C. Knight, Clement, Ludlow, Robson, W. Knight, Denny. Harlequins: Furbank; Anderson, Beard, Bradley, Murley (capt); Slevin, Porter; Hobson, Walker, Delgado, Dun, Browne, Kenningham, Evans, Carr. Sin‑bin: Evans (17 mins). Replacements: Riley, Wenger, Kerrod, Petti, Cunningham‑South, Friday, Lang, Green. Referee: Sara Cox.