What the papers say today about Gloucester Rugby's Pool 6 Heineken Cup 14-20 away defeat to Harlequins at The Stoop last night.
WHAT THE PAPERS SAY TODAY
Paul Ackford
A topsy-turvy, messy contest, but one which pulsated with movement and passion right to the very end as Harlequins prevailed.
At least there was a guarantee of an English victory on Saturday night because, as the pool stages of the Heineken Cup moves towards their climax next weekend, the Premiership clubs are in a right old mess.
Bath? Gone. London Irish? Gone. Gloucester? Gone. Leicester and Northampton? Their hopes are hanging by a thread. Only Saracens and now Quins are making a decent fist of challenging the best in Europe.
Mike Brown was his usual fiery self in the first period, but the Quins forwards found it hard going against a Gloucester back row in which Akapusi Qera and Alasdair Strokosch were immense.
Nick Purewal
HAD Gloucester produced this showing at Sixways the Cherry and Whites would not have slipped to defeat at the hands of local rivals Worcester.
Hail the return of the right spirit, endeavour and enterprise then – but still bemoan another frustrating defeat.
A tough and tricky situation for Gloucester after another loss: because there is genuine reason to be pleased with this improvement.
The big challenge now is to jettison these false starts for the season, and finally launch a solid sequence of wins.
So poor were the Cherry and Whites it was not too hard to improve from last weekend – but Gloucester did far more than that, and were a touch unlucky not to grind a victory.
But no one connected to Kingsholm will celebrate this loss that effectively ends Gloucester’s Heineken Cup chances for the season.
A defeat too far has booted Gloucester out of the European Cup’s last-eight picture – but left Bryan Redpath with cause for optimism
MIKE Tindall has been linked to a move to French side Biarritz this summer.
The Gloucester centre has opened talks with the Top 14 side, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Tindall, who was left out of Stuart Lancaster's Elite Players Squad last week, has just a few months until his Gloucester contract runs out.
The Mail on Sunday said nothing has been agreed yet, but that negotiations are continuing to take place.
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Tindall-linked-Biarritz/story-14429229-detail/story.html
Eddie Butler
The Pool 6 options are down to two after Gloucester slipped out of the race in a pulsating game. Their work is not yet done if Harlequins are to go through as pool winners, for Toulouse still stand above the English clubs and travel to Kingsholm for the final round. Harlequins go to Connacht, never easy, but not the hardest fixture in the Heineken Cup. They need to win and Gloucester need to beat Toulouse. Easy to write; a tough double in reality.
Harlequins began at pace, with quick lineouts and Danny Care taking penalties to himself, as if they were on a mission to make rugby a blur. Nick Easter seemed to enjoy it but you could just sense his hand going up reluctantly in the team vote in favour of hyperactivity.
If he had been hesitant perhaps he knew it was because Gloucester are developing a bit of speed of their own. The game was loose and furious from the off, and if the home team set the tempo the visitors willingly joined in.
Given this sharp upping of the demands on the lungs it was not surprising that there were mistakes. Biathletes have to stop skiing and fire unerringly at a target; neither Freddie Burns nor Nick Evans looked to have retaken control of their breathing when given penalty chances. They missed a pair of kicks apiece in the first half and misfired through the second.
On a more positive note, both fly-halves were accurate and precise in their distribution and both full-backs saw plenty of involvement as the ball went wide at every opportunity. Matt Hopper, playing outside the new England squad member Jordan Turner-Hall and opposite the old trouble-makers of the World Cup, Mike Tindall and Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, looked entirely comfortable in their company, scoring the first try of the game, having shown composure with his angles and passing in the build-up…..
…. Going the other way, from his left wing into the wide midfield was James Simpson-Daniel. He went through Hopper – a clue perhaps to the centre's absence from the England squads – and carried on to the line, a reminder of what a talent he once was until multiple injuries blighted his career. There are still voices for Simpson-Daniel in an England shirt, and here was what may yet turn them into a roar..
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jan/14/harlequins-gloucester-heineken-cup?newsfeed=true
Duncan Wood
The bounce of a rugby ball can be a cruel thing at times and it hurt Gloucester at the Stoop on Saturday evening as a wicked bounce led to the try that won the game for Harlequins.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/16488095.stm
Hugh Godwin
Harlequins stand at a three-way fork in the Heineken Cup road, with two routes leading to the quarter-finals, after a drumskin-tight match that ended with Gloucester going the same way of elimination as Bath and London Irish in other pools.
Harlequins needed a late try as they came from behind to beat Gloucester and keep alive their hopes of reaching the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.
WHAT THE COACHES SAID
Harlequins director of rugby Conor O’Shea:
"This time last year we would probably have lost that game. We are enjoying learning what it is like every week to play at this level, with a heck of a lot on the line every time you go out there.
"We have a saying on the board 'live by the sword, die by the sword'. It hasn't cost us and we can learn from winning rather than learn from losing. Teams only get used to that playing matches when you have everything to lose.
"We go into the last round of the Heineken Cup with an opportunity to go through. I know what Connacht are like down there. We will have to be at our best to win. We are in with a chance."
Gloucester head coach Bryan Redpath told BBC Radio Gloucestershire:
"The boys' effort was outstanding. That's the benchmark we should set whether we're playing home or away. I can't fault the players.
"We can't let our standards slip. Potentially there's only 12 matches remaining this season and we've got to be in every single one with that mindset."
"We've got to finish this Heineken Cup campaign with our heads up and look for a win against Toulouse at the weekend."
