Bryan Redpath reserved praise for Ryan Mills after Gloucester's win over Bath © Getty Images

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Matches: Bath Rugby 11 - 14 Gloucester Rugby

Tournaments/Tours: Aviva Premiership

Teams: Bath Rugby | England | Gloucester Rugby

Gloucester boss Bryan Redpath praised the composure of Ryan Mills after the teenager struck the decisive penalty in his side's 14-11 West Country derby victory over Bath at the Rec.

The 19-year-old fly-half slotted the crucial three-pointer with just over 10 minutes remaining after Gloucester had relinquished their hold on a game which they had largely bossed.

The Cherry and Whites had led 11-5 on a heavy pitch soaked after persistent rain, thanks to a try from outstanding prop Nick Wood and two Freddie Burns penalties, but Bath remained in the hunt thanks to Olly Barkley and Tom Heathcote's kicking and a try from Tom Biggs.

"It's never an issue using Ryan in any big game," Redpath said. "I was delighted for him, he has worked hard and today was a great reward. It was about giving him a chance and he kicked well, he had one great high ball and chase on Olly Barkley, and he had a great kick at goal."

Redpath also heaped praise on Wood, whose solid scrum presence and all-action showing in the loose reignited debate over England's decision to overlook his talents for their Six Nations squad.

"Nick was outstanding," he said. "His last two games have not been top notch, but outside of that over about 20-odd games, for him only to have two that haven't been up there is great. To finish off as he did today was good and his general enthusiasm was excellent."

The win, which completed a second consecutive league double over their nearest rivals and backed up last weekend's victory over Northampton, leaves Gloucester well-placed to mount a late surge for a place in the Aviva Premiership semi-finals, but Redpath insists his side are not thinking that far ahead.

"We are taking it one week at a time. We need to remain focused on what we can achieve from this massive run of games," he said. "We have Quins coming up at home and we definitely want a performance that gives us something against them, because we have played well against them on two occasions and come out on the wrong end of the result."

Defeat for Bath means they face an uphill struggle for a semi-final berth, and also dented their bid for Heineken Cup qualification. Sir Ian McGeechan felt a below-par kicking game had proved decisive in their reverse.

He said: "I think at 11-all we had the momentum but unfortunately we made a couple of poor decisions kicking the ball out. What we needed was a good clearance from the kick off but we didn't get it, they ran it back at us and we never really got back out of our half from there. Their kicking game was more astute than ours today."