Barry Everitt came off the replacements bench to kick London Irish to victory over last season's Zurich Premiership table-toppers.

Everitt, who lost his starting place as Irish battled against relegation towards the end of last season, landed two penalties and a drop goal to turn a 10-7 half-time deficit into a deserved win.

Everitt joined the fray in the 16th minute when the influential Mark Mapletoft, now established as the first choice fly-half ahead of him, was helped off looking decidedly unsteady after taking a knock to the head.

Irish, who only stayed in the Premiership as a result of last season's final-day victory which condemned Bristol Shoguns to relegation, got off to a flying start in their first match since that all-important win.

After only two minutes Paul Sackey showed just why Irish chief executive and director of rugby Conor O'Shea rates him the equal of any of the wing three-quarters England coach Clive Woodward is taking to the World Cup.

There looked little danger as he took a pass just inside the Gloucester half but Sackey produced a tremendous burst of speed, two side-steps and a jink inside to evade three would-be tacklers to burst clear before touching down between the posts and leaving Mapletoft a simple conversion.

Gloucester drew level when number eight Junior Paramore caught Irish napping, scooping up a loose ball following a tackle and running unchallenged for a 26-minute try which Henry Paul converted.

Paul put Gloucester ahead with a 37th-minute penalty but, following a scrappy first half, the Irish pack outworked the Gloucester forwards to put their side firmly in control.

Everitt's first penalty, when Gloucester killed the ball after being put under a sustained spell of pressure near their own line, put Irish level in the 46th minute and five minutes later the replacement fly-half kicked them ahead with a 40-metre penalty.

Everitt had what turned out to be the final say in the 64th minute, dropping a goal following another period of sustained pressure which had Gloucester at full stretch.

Gloucester, deprived of six first-choice players through World Cup calls, battled to get back into the game but Irish, the only Premiership side untroubled by World Cup demands, held out without too much trouble.

The only scare came six minutes into injury time when Gloucester full-back Rory Teague just failed to collect a kick ahead with the Irish defence in disarray but Alex Page, the Irish scrum-half, stepped in to take the loose ball and relieve the pressure with a kick into touch.