If further evidence was required as to whether Gloucester this season were the genuine article, then this was it. At a sold-out Kingsholm, kicking off the Prem’s derby weekend after holding the European champions to a draw last Friday night, they put their West Country rivals to the sword and kept their grip on the top of the Prem table.

This victory was built on grit and steel, rather than the attractive brand of rugby with which Gloucester have become associated. Some of their defence, marshalled by Joel Tomkins, in his first season at Kingsholm, was celestial. Dewi Lake, the captain, and Seb Atkinson, the vice-captain, were both absent because of niggles, but Jac Morgan was hardly a bad replacement as skipper and physical tone-setter. Morgan and his back-row colleague, Jack Clement, were outstanding. There might not be a better No 8 in England right now than Clement. George Barton at full-back continues to mature rapidly, too.

As for Bath, they have conceded 126 points across their previous three matches and each has ended in defeat. It is not quite a crisis, but they had won on their last four visits to Kingsholm; on Friday night, they barely looked at the races, so far from looking likely to achieve a fifth on the bounce.

After the, at times, facile razzmatazz of the Prem’s early rounds, this was a good, old-fashioned derby of blood, guts and socks-round-the-ankles thunder. On the first night of true autumn chill, in the wake of Storm Austen, the first half will be remembered for miraculous defensive displays, mainly from Gloucester. For this league, it had been a long time coming.

It was not until the 31st minute that a point was scored; it came from the cherry-and-white boot of Barton. But the penalty came after a scarcely believable defensive stand from the hosts. Firstly, Kepu Tuipulotu’s try was ruled out for a double movement; then, Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi’s score was overturned for a knock-on.

Gloucester had both Ollie Thorley and Ciaran Knight sent to the sin-bin for a ruck and maul offence respectively but, when Bath gave it full throttle against 13 players on the hosts’ line, Ciaran Donoghue found himself isolated and Will Joseph and Barton won the holding-on penalty. There will not be a bigger cheer this season than the one out of the Shed when referee Christophe Ridley, on his 100th Prem match, pointed his arm towards the Gloucester side.

Big cheers also followed Barton nudging over another three points, and then another three. With 13 players, Gloucester were in dreamland at 9-0. Bath had lost Santiago Carreras to a serious-looking knee injury but they were far from their accurate and businesslike selves. Tuipulotu, at least, did manage to crash over from a driving maul before the break to tighten the scores.

At the start of the second half, Gloucester’s defence began to enter Herculean territory. With yet another player in the sin-bin – Will Joseph for a deliberate knock-on – Bath were held up for a third time and then shunted into touch. As stoic as Gloucester were, Bath were beyond profligate.

Gloucester were the opposite. With 14, the hosts went up the other end and Clement’s pop to Freddie Thomas could not have been better timed. Gloucester had an 11-point lead to defend with 25 minutes to play and it was entirely deserved. Max Llewellyn’s late try sealed it.

After years of underachievement and mediocrity, Gloucester finally look like challengers again. The goal now is to sustain this level of excellence. Their start to the season deserves it.

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