DIRECTOR of rugby David Humphreys paid tribute to Gloucester’s strength of character, and James Hook in particular, after the Welsh fly half kicked his side to a dramatic victory over Saracens, writes Alex Fulford.

With time up at Kingsholm, Hook nailed a penalty from the halfway line to cap an eventful Friday night that saw five tries, four yellow cards and serious injuries to both Ben Morgan and Nick Wood.

An early penalty try put Sarries in the lead and thanks to the kicking of Alex Goode they went in 13-11 up at the break, despite a magnificent solo score from Dan Robson.

Billy Vunipola stretched the visitors’ lead but Callum Braley responded after a remarkable Gloucester move that started under their own posts.

Mako Vunipola then looked to have won it but Hook, who missed a drop-goal attempt moments before, held his nerve from the kicking tee to seal a topsy-turvy encounter.

Defeat for Gloucester would have meant four in a row at Kingsholm in the league for the first time since the 1995/6 season and Humphreys was delighted with his side’s response.

"I don't think I have ever seen anything like that, no game I have ever been involved in has had those last couple of minutes," he said.

"From one emotion to the other, we thought we had lost and then all of a sudden we are coming back for a penalty and huge credit to James Hook, having had a difficult enough first half off the tee, to stand up and knock that one over was magnificent.

"The one thing people cannot question about this team throughout the season has been their character and determination.

"It was shown last week to hold on in Exeter and again here. I think we were due a bit of luck and we felt in the end it was a good decision to get the penalty.

"We have conceded a number of tries from mauls, it's been a bit of a feature of our season. It's something we have worked hard on and will continue to work hard on."

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