| London Irish 23-16 Gloucester London Irish 23-16 GloucesterIf Gloucester could avoid playing at Reading every season they would save themselves a heap of trouble. In statistical terms this defeat was an improvement on the 40-point drubbings the Exiles have inflicted in the past two years but in truth it was equally painful. The bonus point Gloucester secured with an injury-time consolatory try ranked among the scratchiest in the competition's history.Irish, who are now in second place, behind Northampton, would have won by the length of the Thames Valley had they taken all their chances, with the former Gloucester favourite Ryan Lamb pulling the strings with impish glee. How relieved the fly-half must be to be playing for a team who can string more than a couple of phases together before they commit an error or concede a penalty. If supporters of the Cherry and Whites thought their side's opening-day defeat by Exeter was a nightmarish one-off they have already been disillusioned.Gloucester's biggest problem today was obvious: a total of 19 penalties conceded reflected the home side's dominance at the scrum and the visitors' desperate attempts to stem the tide."We cut our own throats," said Bryan Redpath, the Gloucester head coach, doing his best not to dwell on his squad's rather sickly league position of 10th. "There's no point throwing the toys out the pram and getting all panicky about it. We have to keep faith and be far more clinical. At the moment we're making it easy for teams to play against us. London Irish didn't have to do a huge amount to beat us."Unsurprisingly his opposite number, Toby Booth, saw things differently, praising his front five in particular. "We dominated set piece and possession almost from start to finish," he said. "I'm sure they'll be delighted with a bonus point because really they didn't deserve anything. I thought we gave a fantastic scrum performance and I don't use that word very often."Gloucester's tight forwards were so sapped of energy by the end they could barely think straight, Irish's wide game having stretched them to breaking point.When the muse is with them, Irish play as good-looking a brand of rugby as anyone, even in the absence of the injured openside Steffon Armitage. The passage of play before their first try, by the hooker James Buckland, saw technical expertise and bubbling ambition in perfect harmony. Creating the extra man with clever loops, finding inside runners, probing endlessly for gaps between defenders ... all are simple concepts but Irish execute them beautifully. By the time their tireless flanker Declan Danaher delivered a neat scoring pass from the left touchline to the supporting Buckland, Gloucester were chasing shadows.Where Lamb skipped and jinked, the Cherry and Whites plodded. Their day was summed up when Lesley Vainikolo tried to keep a Lamb punt in play, only to flick it past a sprawling Charlie Sharples and over the dead-ball line for an Irish five-metre scrum. Gloucester did manage to keep their line intact during the subsequent scrummaging assault but it was edge-of-the-precipice stuff. Only when the ball squirted out and Nicky Robinson hacked the ball clear did the pressure ease swing, a crazy hospital pass from Lamb putting Seilala Mapusua in trouble. Had Mike Tindall kept ball in hand, rather than chipping ahead, a Gloucester try would surely have materialised.That left Irish with a 10-6 interval lead, a cushion that was reduced within four minutes of the restart when Clarke Dermody was penalised for dropping a scrum. In every other respect the Irish captain was a model influence, popping up repeatedly in open play. Captaincy seems to be bringing the best out of the former All Black prop, just as Booth's trust is making Lamb a better player."You're going to get a bit of x-factor with him but what has impressed us this season has been his kicking consistency," said Booth. After George Stowers had scored Irish's second try, in the 64th minute, Lamb's conversion maintained his 100% record on the day. Vainikolo set up Tim Taylor for Gloucester's late try.Sides do occasionally come good after a slow start, but Gloucester badly need a decent performance against Wasps at Kingsholm this weekend. In the meantime all sides will be reflecting on another weekend of slim attendances, with Irish attracting barely 8,000, fewer than watched any of their home league games last season.The prospects of a certain well-known name with a Welsh accent joining the Exiles look improbable, after Booth said there was "less than a 1% chance" of Gavin Henson relocating to Sunbury."It's not about us doing Gavin Henson a favour," he said. "There are massive question marks over his motivation for wanting to do it. When I was asked the question I probably said I would speak to him because I like to be different. We haven't had a conversation with the players about it because I don't think it warrants one."London Irish D Armitage; Ojo, Mapusua, Bowden, Joseph; Lamb (Malone, 74), Hodgson (Allinson, 71); Dermody (capt; Lahiff, 74), Buckland (Paice, 74), Rautenbach (Corbisiero, 54), Kennedy, Casey (Garvey, 66), Roche, Danaher, Stowers.Tries Buckland, Stowers Cons Lamb 2 Pens Lamb 3.Gloucester Sharples; Simpson-Daniel, Tindall (capt), Fuimaono‑Sapolu (Molenaar, 79), Vainikolo; Robinson (Taylor, 74), R Lawson (Lewis, 75); Dickinson (Wood, 60), S Lawson, Capdevielle (Harden, 60), Hamilton (Attwood, 54), Brown, Strokosch, Hazell, B Deacon.Try Vainikolo Pens Robinson 3.Referee D Richards (Berkshire). Attendance 8,267.PremiershipLondon IrishGloucesterRugby unionRobert Kitsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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