Glaws show spirit in Quins defeat

They might have lost, but Gloucester took another step in the right direction in the 28-25 defeat at Harlquins, and the defending champions and Premiership leaders know they were in a game against a side surely destined tio be amongst the contenders this season.

Not too long ago, Gloucester would surely have crumbled after conceding 12 points late in the first half to go in 22-12 down at the break.

But this is a different and much better Glaws team, and they responded well enough to make sure Quins could never hit cruise control.

“I don’t think we played particularly well, but having said that I’m very proud of the way the lads fought – the spirit of this team is fantastic,” coach Nigel Davies said afterwards.

“The determination and commitment is fantastic and as much as we lost we put a marker down again and we look forward to playing Harlequins at home.

“The try at the end shows the spirit of the team and that we never give up.

“It would have been great to get a result, and if we’d bit a little bit more accurate and less sloppy in the first half, we might have done.

“We didn’t play enough with the ball, but it was a bit of a scrappy game in a great atmosphere and very tense at times.

“The bonus point is better than none and it’s important that we keep the league table ticking over.”

A late try from Billy Twelvetrees earned the bonus point, Freddie Burns kicking the other 20 points, but Quins had scored three tries of their own through Mike Brown, Matt Hopper and Sam Smith in the first half and might have expected a second-half stroll.

That they didn’t get one is testament to that spirit Davies is talking about.

It’s the LV= Cup next weekend as Glaws travel to Swansea on Friday night for a game against Ospreys – a chance for Davies to rotate his squad and really test the strength in depth of that spirit.