With a score of 14.650, my home favourite Fraser led the pommel horse rankings, igniting cheers from spectators around the stadium.
The hosts also made light of Max Whitlock’s injury by finishing on 254.500, 13.300 ahead of Canada.
As England dominated, James Hall, Jake Jarman, Giarnni Regini-Moran, and Courtney Tulloch all shone.
Together, they ensured that England won every six pieces of equipment, ensuring a perfect sweep of the rankings.
After triathlete Alex Yee’s victory earlier on the first day of competition, their victory marked England’s second gold of the Commonwealth Games.
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Two weeks before the Games, British champion Fraser’s chances of participating in the all-around event at the Commonwealths were dashed by an ankle injury.
He promised, however, to get over his disappointment and assist England in their pursuit of a second championship following victories in Glasgow in 2014 and on the Gold Coast in 2018.
The 23-year-old fulfilled his commitment and afterwards stated: “I’m a purist.
“There have been many moments when I’ve thought, “This isn’t meant to be,” but the idea of playing for a home audience has always motivated me to work harder and accomplish more.”
Fraser entered the contest with a polished pommel performance and dismounted to thunderous acclaim. He received a good rating from the judges of 14.650, which was 0.300 more than Rhys McClenaghan of Northern Ireland, the current Commonwealth champion on the apparatus.
Tulloch, the reigning champion on the rings from the Gold Coast, increased England’s advantage with a composed, certain performance that resulted in a score of 14.700, easily outpacing the rest of the field.
Jarman outperformed the others on the vault, while Regini-Moran took first place on the parallel bars and floor.
Fraser, though, was appropriately given the last say. On England’s last rotation, he performed a fantastic horizontal bar performance and earned the highest score of 14.500.
Fraser also said, “I’ve experienced a lot of hardship. My instructor told me, “I believe in you,” just before the high bar, and it was just what I needed.
“Sticking the dismount just brought everything into focus. I was very proud of myself for managing to walk away from that landing despite the ailments I’ve been dealing with.”
The England squad jumped in a happy huddle, but the surprise bronze medalists from Cyprus outdid their joyous celebrations.
Wales came in sixth and Scotland fifth, respectively.
The top eight competitors on each apparatus advance to the medal events later in the Games from the team final, which also serves as the qualifying event for individual disciplines.
Before Marios Georgiou of Cyprus, English gymnasts Jarman and Hall had the two best all-around scores.
Frank Baines of Scotland, who retired from the sport in 2019 but returned to participate in a third Commonwealth Games, also improved.
