Tigers pack too strong for Glaws

Gloucester's huge improvement this season has largely been built on the strength of their pack, but they were always second best to a set of Leicester forwards that built the platform for a tight home win for the Tigers.

And it was Glaws old boy Anthony Allen who scored the try that made the difference between the teams, though it has to be said that if the absent Toby Flood had been taking the kicks for Leicester, they might have had a bigger winning margin than 17-12.

But Glaws deserved their losing bonus point and coach Nigel Davies was right to look on the bright side.

“To be able to come here and not play particularly well but compete to the end is encouraging,” he told the BBC.

"The set piece wasn't as good as it should have been, our exiting of the positions wasn't great and they put a lot of pressure on us.

"I thought the conditions probably suited them rather more than us and the way we want to play.

"Our scrum has been a big part of our season so far, so we're disappointed to come second best here today.

"We're a side in transition and a side with a lot of room for improvement but I think we're already seeing glimpses of how good this team can be."

That has been the case in many other games this season, of course, and having halted the slide that was threatening to turn Glaws into a bottom half club rather than one challenging for honours, the test for Davies now is to ensure that this potential is realised.

The conditions were awful, but that’s what happens in a game played in the winter, and Glaws were always in it thanks to four penalties from Freddie Burns, George Ford struggling to match him despite a lot of chances as the home pack forced Glaws into errors – they won seven scrum penalties in the first half.

Burns kicked Glaws into a 9-3 lead by the early stages of the second half, but poor handling gave the ball away and the home pack set up Allen for his try in the corner.

Glaws hammered away at the home line late on, but Leicester held out and were relieved to hear the final whistle.

Glaws remain in the top four, but it’s very tight with three teams below them within a win.

Yet another game against London Irish next Saturday should give them a chance to add more points, but they’ll need to beware a side becoming increasingly desperate for safety points as Sale threaten a revival.