Carlisle’s Chris Harris played a starring role in Gloucester’s big Boxing Day win over rivals Bath.

The Scotland and British & Irish Lions centre went over for two tries to help his side to a 40-20 derby day victory at the Recreation Ground.

Former Carlisle Rugby Club player Harris scored the first of his tries after 29 minutes, following good work from Ben Meehan.

The 31-year-old then doubled his tally shortly before the interval as he finished off after some good footwork from Louis Rees-Zammit.

Gloucester held off Bath’s attempted comeback in the second half of the west country affair, with Harris’s side sitting fourth in the Gallagher Premiership after 10 games.

Harris has four tries to his name from seven league appearances so far this campaign.

Head coach George Skivington praised the performance of Harris and his team-mates.

He said: “It was a hard-fought victory - tough, physical, but the boys were clinical when it mattered.

“When the pressure was on and we needed to score, the boys did a great job.

“The first 20 minutes of the second half was a bit of a stalemate, and we couldn’t quite get a foothold or territory and into our game.

“Sometimes you’ve got to roll your sleeves up and defend really hard.”