Il Nuovo Postiglione - Russell stars as English Premiership rugby leaders Bath beat Gloucester

Russell returned from Six Nations duty to score 17 points, including one of the hosts' six tries, as Bath cut loose in the second half at the Recreation Ground after only narrowly leading 28-26 at the break.

Victory against their west country rivals took Bath six points clear at the top of the table, with the team looking to go one better after defeat by Northampton in last season's Premiership final.

"We haven't played together as a group for eight weeks, but we stuck to our task," Van Graan told reporters. "It was a very good second-half performance. There were some very good things today -- our mindset was fantastic."

As for Russell's influence, he added: "Finn was one of the best players on the pitch today. I am his coach at Bath and I think he is one of the best 10s in the world.

"It is all about the squad for Finn. You will see our players are happy, and he can come back in and perform. I don't think he always gets the credits for small moments."

There was also a try-scoring return to action for Bath and England flanker Sam Underhill, who suffered an ankle injury in early January and missed the entire Six Nations.

Play-off contenders Gloucester had to be content with a losing bonus after failing to score in the second half, with coach George Skivington saying: "I thought Bath strangled us a bit in the second half and we didn't really fire any shots."

He added: "Bath's power-game today was top notch. In terms of what I have seen in the Premiership this season, I don't think anyone has looked as powerful as that."

F.dAmico--INP