Eustace puts foot in it for Gloucester

Wasps 23 Gloucester 16

In a match that had virtually every incident in the book, and a few that are not, Gloucester relinquished their unbeaten record yesterday. They went down fighting and kicking. The West Countrymen finished an absorbing contest with 13 players having battled for all but four minutes without Adam Eustace.

The lock forward was sent off before he had broken sweat after some careless, not to mention dangerous, play at a ruck. Eustace stamped on Alex King and for good measure put a knee into the standoff, who ended prostrate. A defence of playing the ball did not apply. It was nowhere near the boot of Eustace.

It was an extremely courageous decision by Nigel Williams, the referee – most would have settled for a yellow card at such an early juncture of the game – and it wasn't his last.

Lawrence Dallaglio, named man of the match, Simon Shaw, who should have been named man of the match, and Mark Cornwell were sent to the sin-bin for a variety of offences in a desperately hard encounter that only occasionally went over the top.

Warren Gatland, the Wasps' coach, identified the match as the "most important fixture of the season. If Wasps are going to win the Zurich Premiership collecting four points is the utter minimum. The Black Tide is rising.''

And a corner of Buckinghamshire is rising to the arrival of Wasps, a crowd of 8,768 almost filling Adams Park, a ground more accustomed to the sedate performances of Wycombe Wanderers. In attendance was Clive Woodward, who was a regular visitor here when Martin O'Neill was manager. Both coaches have come along way.

The loss of Eustace proved too big a handicap for Gloucester and if he was distraught he wasn't the only one. James Forrester, the young and brilliant flanker who would have been itching to show Wasps and Woodward what he was made of, was livid. Forced to reshuffle their pack, Gloucester opted to take off Forrester, bring Ed Pearce into the second row and play with a two-man back row.

Despite Eustace's premature departure Gloucester, bristling with ex-Wasps in Nigel Melville, Dean Ryan and Andy Gomarsall, led 10-8 at half-time. King regained his senses to kick the penalty from Eustace's offence but immediately the Cherry and Whites seven-man pack drove fanatically, pinning Wasps in front of the posts from where Ludovic Mercier levelled.

Ten minutes later Wasps lost control of a scrum, Gomarsall stole the ball and with the defence wrong-footed, Terry Fanolua's powerful run met with little resistance. Mercier's conversion gave Gloucester a seven-point lead. It was cut to two when Mark van Gisbergen, who had come on as a replacement for the rookie centre Ayoola Erinle, went over on an overlap, benefiting from a smart pass from Phil Greening after the initial breach was made in midfield by Dallaglio.

Greening, the former Gloucester hooker, did brilliantly to prevent James Simpson-Daniel from scoring and after Pearce had squandered a great opportunity by diving into a ruck, the half ended with King once again lying flat out. He took a blow to the head from Robert Todd and was taken off on a stretcher. He was taken to hospital for observation but later returned to Adams Park with nothing worse than a headache. A cold lager to the forehead was the perfect antidote.

Wasps enjoyed a taste of honey from the re-start, hitting the front with 10 points within three minutes. Kenny Logan kicked a long-range penalty and then the absence of Forrester really hurt Gloucester. When Rob Howley worked the blind side, he found the impressive Josh Lewsey on the left wing and the full-back beat Pearce to touch down in the corner.

When Dallaglio was shown a yellow card for going into the side of a ruck, Mercier kicked the penalty to make it 18-13 but then the Frenchman was forced to limp off. Entrusted with kicking duties, Henry Paul promptly failed with a penalty attempt. It was Gloucester's last chance for glory as Shaw, cutting inside Cornwell and Junior Paramore, got Wasps' third try following excellent work by Peter Scrivener, Trevor Leota and van Gisbergen.

Wasps now had a lead of 10 points and Gloucester were further depleted when Cornwell also became the recipient of a yellow card. Despite being two men short, Gloucester refused to go quickly. Indeed, in the dying stages they monopolised possession, forcing Wasps into a desperate defence. So desperate they conceded a string of penalties and also lost Shaw, the third lock to incur the wrath of referee Williams. It finally dawned on Phil Vickery, the Gloucester captain, that kicking for goal instead for an attacking position, would earn his side a bonus point for getting within seven points of the opposition and up stepped Paul to kick the penalty that ensured Gloucester did not retreat down the M4 empty handed.

Wasps 23 Gloucester 16
Tries: Van Gisbergen, Lewsey, Shaw Try: Fanolua
Con: Logan Con: Mercier
Pens: King, Logan Pens: Mercier 2, Paul

Half-time: 8-10 Attendance: 8,768

Wasps: J Lewsey; S Roiser, S Abbott, A Erinle, K Logan; A King (M van Gisbergen, 40), R Howley; C Dowd, P Greening (T Leota, 52), W Green (D Molloy, 71), S Shaw, R Birkett, J Worsley (P Scrivener, 10), L Dallaglio (capt), P Volley.

Gloucester: H Paul; M Garvey, T Fanolua, R Todd, J Simpson-Daniel; L Mercier (T Delport, 64), A Gomarsall; T Woodman (A Deacon, 76), O Azam (C Fortey, 71), P Vickery (capt), A Eustace, M Cornwell, J Forrester (E Pearce, 10), J Paramore (P Buxton, 71), J Boer.

Referee: N Williams (Wales).