Gloucester avoided suffering the same opening Premiership weekend setback as
champions Leicester - but they left it late before pinching victory over a
fired-up Quins outfit.
England prop Trevor Woodman's 78th-minute try, when he barged through weak
Quins tackling, saved the day for Gloucester who had fallen behind three minutes
earlier when home fly-half Paul Burke dropped a goal.
Gloucester had wiped out a 10-0 deficit inside 17 minutes to score 18
unanswered points with tries from wing Marcel Garvey and number eight Junior
Paramore, but then allowed Quins back in.
Two Burke penalties on 42 and 66 minutes brought Quins to within touching
distance at 18-16 adrift, and when Burke slotted a predictable drop goal,
Gloucester looked down and out.
But they dredged up a desperate attack from deep with time running out, and
Woodman made the most of some inferior defensive work by substitute scrum-half
Scott Bemand to clinch the points.
Gloucester kicked off their Premiership campaign today as second favourites
for the title behind Leicester, but it was Quins who made all the early
running.
They went ahead after 10 minutes through a brilliantly-executed try that had
clearly been practised on the training ground.
Scrum-half Matt Powell fed Burke 25 metres out, then looped around his
half-back and put wing Matt More scorching through a huge gap for a try that
Burke improved.
Burke's opening penalty, kicked after Gloucester lock Mark Cornwell had been
sin-binned for foul play, put Quins firmly in the driving seat.
Gloucester though, hit back in determined fashion and rattled up 18 points in
15 minutes before the break.
Former rugby league star Henry Paul, starting the season in Gloucester's
number 10 jersey landed a 28th-minute penalty before the lively Garvey, making
his first Premiership start, jinked his way over on a telling 20 metre burst.
Paul's conversion tied the scores before then Gloucester went ahead for the
first time, driving a line-out 15 metres and allowing Paramore to claim the
touchdown.
Paul missed the conversion, but booted a 48-metre penalty during first-half
injury time to give Gloucester a 18-10 interval advantage.
The second period provided predictable early season fare, littered with
handling errors and poor decision-making, but Burke maintained interest among
the home fans in a 7,000 crowd with two further penalties.
Quins saw their England lock Alex Codling limp off injured midway through the
second half, but the home side stuck to their task amid an inevitable round of
late substitutions.
In the end, Woodman's dash for glory proved just enough, but rival coaches
Mark Evans and Nigel Melville will be the first to admit that there is
significant room for improvement in both camps.
Teams
Harlequins: N. Williams, Moore, Greenwood, Bell, Gollings,
Burke, M. Powell, Leonard, Wood, Gomez, Davies, Codling,
Tiatia, Sanderson, Diprose.
Not Used: Caputo, Starr, Evans, Sheriff, Bemand, Jewell, Satala.
Tries: Moore.
Cons: Burke.
Pens: Burke 3.
Drop Goals: Burke.
Gloucester: Delport, Garvey, Fanolua, Todd, Simpson-Daniel,
Paul, Gomarsall, Woodman, Azam, Vickery, Pearce, Cornwell,
Boer, Hazell, Paramore.
Not Used: Stuart-Smith, Mercier, Beim, Forrester, Deacon,
Fortey, Fidler.
Tries: Garvey, Paramore, Woodman.
Cons: Paul, Mercier.
Pens: Paul 2.
Att: 7,015
Ref: Steve Lander (RFU).
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