Connacht got off to a flying start in this Heineken Cup Round 4 match in Kingsholm pinning the hosts deep inside their own half with strong pressure from the forwards. Gloucester were first on the scoreboard though with a penalty from Tim Taylor after 7 minutes. Connacht were next up when a Frank Murphy intercept brought Gavin Duffy and George Naoupu into play and when George was brought down 3m from the line Tiernan O’halloran was on hand to receive the offload and score the try. Niall O’Connor converted to give Connacht a deserved lead. Taylor crashed over for a Gloucester try after 20 minutes which he converted but Connacht finished out the half the stronger of the two sides with O’Connor adding two penalties giving the visitors a 13 10 lead at the break.

Connacht came out all guns blazing in the second half and 5 minutes in Niall O’Connor extended the lead with a penalty kick. Connacht were then forced into a long spell of defence but the line held firm and it wasn’t until the 57^th minute that Freddie Burns had a shot at goal bringing Gloucester back to within 3 points. He levelled the score 10 minutes later when Gloucester were awarded a penalty from a lineout on the 10m line. Connacht got stuck in from the restart and after Gavin Duffy fed Tiernan O’Halloran through a gap Connacht were awarded a penalty in front of the posts which Niall O’Connor converted. With 4 minutes left on the clock a gap in the Connacht defence left Jonny May free to score in the corner and he converted he try to give Gloucester a 4 point lead which they held onto to win the game.

Connacht:

Gavin Duffy ©, Mark McCrea, Eoin Griffin, Dave McSharry, Tiernan O’Halloran, Niall O’Connor, Frank Murphy, Brett Wilkinson, Ethienne Reynecke, Ronan Loughney, George Naoupu, Mike McCarthy, Dave Gannon, Johnny O’Connor, John Muldoon

Replacements:

Adrian Flavin, Dylan Rogers, Rodney Ah You, Mick Kearney, Eoin McKeon, Paul O’Donohoe, Matthew Jarvis, Kyle Tonetti

Gloucester

Olly Morgan, Charlie Sharples, Mike Tindall, Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, James Simpson-Daniel, Tim Taylor, Nick Runciman, Dan Murphy, Scott Lawson, Rupert Harden, Peter Buxton, Big Jim Hamilton, Brett Deacon, Andy Hazell, Luke Narraway

Replacements:

Matias Cortese, Nick Wood, Shaun Knight, Will James, Akapusi Qera, Rory Lawson, Freddie Burns, Jonny May  

Pics (C) www.inpho.ie / James Crombie