Harlequins held scoreless by resolute Gloucester at Kingsholm

Gloucester earned a deserved 14-0 win over an out-of-sorts Harlequins before a sell-out crowd at Kingsholm.

After scoring two tries in an impressive first-half performance, the home side had to rely on some heroic defence to achieve the rare feat of keeping the normally potent Quins scoreless.

Josh Hathaway and Jack Clement scored Gloucester’s tries, both of which Santiago Carreras converted as none of Quins’ stars could make any impact on the night.

Val Rapava-Ruskin was a late withdrawal with a knee injury but his side overcame that setback to take an 11th-minute lead.

After withstanding a sustained opening assault, Gloucester broke out and from their first real attack, a long pass from Gareth Anscombe provided his fellow Wales international Hathaway with a walk-in.

That score was the catalyst for the hosts to take control. Their pack had the edge at the breakdown and dominance in the scrum and as a result looked set to increase their advantage when Rapava-Ruskin’s replacement Ciaran Knight tore through the defence before chipping ahead, but the Quins cover just got back in time.

However the respite was only temporary as Gloucester soon won another a scrum penalty and from the resulting line-out, their opponents were scattered everywhere as Clement powered over.

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Avg. Points Scored

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The home side suffered a blow when their promising young prop Afolabi Fasogbon limped off but they were still able to keep Quins at bay to lead 14-0 at half-time.

The Londoners needed the first score after the interval to remain in contention but could not penetrate a resolute home defence, who were able to successfully defend two five-metre line-outs and then tackle fiercely when the ball was moved wide.

Quins were not helped by uncustomary poor handling and full-back Tyrone Green looked the only one capable of breaking down Gloucester’s defensive red wall.

The visitors took off England flanker Chandler Cunningham-South together with two other forwards in an attempt to reverse their fortunes but it paid no immediate dividends as an error-ridden third quarter finished scoreless.

Surprisingly Green was then replaced by Jarrod Evans, with Marcus Smith switching to full-back. Gloucester responded by withdrawing Anscombe with Carreras taking up the fly-half berth.

With 15 minutes remaining, Carreras had a chance to make it a three-score game but his 40-metre penalty rebounded back off a post. It mattered little as Quins continued their fumbling right up until the end.