Gloucester see off Exiles
Gloucester made sure Bath's stay at the top of Guinness Premiership table was a short one with a 32-14 win over London Irish.
Last Updated: 08/03/08 10:57pm
Gloucester made sure Bath's stay at the top of Guinness Premiership table was a short one with a 32-14 win over London Irish.
The Exiles arrived at Kingsholm on a run of five successive victories but were unable to subdue a Cherry and Whites side missing so many starters.
A total of 10 players were away on international duty, meaning a debut to lock Dan Tuohy and places on the bench for young backs Charlie Sharples and Dan Norton.
However, they still proved too strong for their opponents, scoring three tries in the opening 23 minutes to open up a sizeable cushion that they never looked like surrendering.
The result puts Gloucester four points clear at the summit from Bath, who had leapfrogged them when they beat Newcastle earlier in the day.
Fast start
A score inside five minutes was the perfect start for Dean Ryan's side, particularly after they had lost three of their last four league outings.
Nick Wood calmed any nerves amongst the home fans when he got on the end of a grubber kick to plough through and touch down by the posts.
With confidence suddenly returning it took Gloucester just seven minutes to score again, centre Jack Adams capitalising as the Exiles made a mess of collecting a loose ball.
Fly-half Willie Walker added the simple conversions to both tries and although the Exiles replied with a Peter Hewat penalty, a third score was not long in coming.
Winger Mark Foster collected a kick ahead from rookie Tuohy to touch down with Walker adding the conversion.
A penalty from the boot of the fly-half added three more points after Andy Titterrell was at the centre of a tussle on the ground.
The hooker was forced off the field for treatment after the incident only to see his replacement, Olivier Azam, sent to the sin-bin for foul play.
Ojo intercept
Hewat kicked the resulting penalty and, with Gloucester a man light, the Exiles grabbed the first try after half-time.
Topsy Ojo intercepted a pass 15 metres inside his own half before outpacing two Gloucester players to touch down - although the conversion was missed.
Walker had a similar problem with his next penalty kick but did manage to find the target midway through the half.
Those three points left London Irish with too much to do and their misery was complete when David Paice was sent to the sin-bin five minutes from time.
Now it was Gloucester's chance to make the most of the man advantage, driving their opponents back over their own line.
Television match official Graham Hughes eventually awarded the try to Titterrell to secure a bonus point for Ryan's troops.
