Vainikolo denies Quins win
Gloucester rallied from a 12-point half-time deficit to defeat Harlequins 27-25 in a classic encounter at Kingsholm.
Last Updated: 24/11/07 7:11pm
Harlequins paid dearly for poor discipline at Kinsgholm as Gloucester rallied from a 12-point half-time deficit to win a Guinness Premiership classic.
The visitors scored four first-half tries to stun a Cherry and Whites side who appeared to be suffering a Heineken Cup hangover.
However, Lesley Vainikolo's second try of the match and Chris Paterson's accurate boot helped the league leaders mount a thrilling comeback.
Quins' cause was not helped by the sin-binning of Andy Gomarsall and Ceri Jones as they fell apart in the second half after leading 25-13 at the break.
After their excellent home win over the Ospreys in Europe last week, Gloucester coach Dean Ryan opted to make eight changes.
Early onslaught
The decision seemed to have back-fired in the opening 40 minutes as they had no answer to the speed of their opponents.
David Strettle was the architect for Quins' success in open play, the England international shining in the centres for a second successive outing.
It was his excellent break that led to the opening try for Simon Keogh after Quins had already broke the deadlock with a Chris Malone penalty.
The number 10's boot was also crucial in the second score - his grubber kick bouncing nicely into space for Ugo Monye to collect and ground in the corner.
Stunned out of their early lethargy, Gloucester managed to answer back with a try of their own from Vainikolo - his first on home soil.
Paterson managed to add the extras but it proved to only be a brief response as Quins managed to find the try-line on two more occasions.
Malone took Gomarsall's pass from the scrum and ran straight through some weak tackling to score and then Keogh sprinted down the narrow side to get the bonus-point try in only the 33rd minute.
All Gloucester - who were not helped by the sin-binning of Andy Hazell - managed in reply before the break was a Paterson penalty.
Powerful pack
But if the first 40 minutes had been all about the Quins' backs then the second belonged to the home side's powerful pack.
As well as blanking their opponents, Gloucester's front eight laid the platform for two tries, the first of which was scored by Tindall just six minutes after the re-start.
Gomersall and Jones were then yellow carded as the pressure came to bear from a series of scrums and penalty line-outs.
Eventually Quins' defensive line cracked, Vainikolo picking up the ball from a ruck and going around Chris Robshaw to complete his brace.
Paterson added the extras to seal a superb Gloucester comeback that keeps them at the summit after seven games of the campaign.
