Gloucester grateful for gift of vital late tries

Perpignan 31 Gloucester 23

Two late touchdowns completely against the run of play could provide Gloucester with the key to the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup. If teams are level on points at the completion of the pool stages tries come into play and the Cherry and Whites have the edge in that particular tiebreaker.

Both clubs have intriguing matches against Munster in the new year and Gloucester still head Pool Two, courtesy of an act of philanthropy from Perpignan. After 59 minutes the West Country club, the clear leaders of the Zurich Premiership, trailed 31-9 and were heading for a record defeat at the Stade Aimé Giral, a tree-lined ground named after a French international who died during the First World War. Cue French idiosyncrasy on the scale of the Pyrenees. They took off five of their forwards, disrupting a pack that was subjecting Gloucester to all manner of indignities at the set piece and in the loose.

The nature of the contest was transformed and Gloucester suddenly enjoyed a freedom that had hitherto been denied them. They were also fortunate that whereas Andy Gomarsall had not been shown a yellow card for a blatant trip on Frédéric Cermeno, Perpignan were reduced to 14 men in the last 10 minutes. For the lesser offence of not retreating 10 yards when Gloucester were awarded a penalty, the centre Pascal Giordani was despatched to the sin-bin by the Irish referee, David McHugh.

Gloucester made the most of their good fortune, driving Jake Boer over for their first try in the 75th minute and adding another in injury time through Ludovic Mercier after the substitute James Forrester had brought some much-needed pace to a back row that had been almost totally eclipsed.

The final flurry was a bonus for Gloucester, who bore no resemblance to the side that had demolished Munster at Kingsholm in October. ''The pressure is coming at us from all angles,'' Phil Vickery, the Gloucester captain, admitted. "Everyone wants to beat us. The Perpignan pack was as tough as any I've come across and their scrummaging was the best I've encountered at club level. We haven't been playing well recently and it's difficult to pinpoint the reasons why. We are all trying our guts out but it just isn't happening.''

Perpignan may yet pay dearly for their profligacy in the second half. The reason for their wholesale changes was to rest players for an important French championship match with Narbonne next weekend. Having suffered four consecutive defeats on the road, Perpignan cannot afford another loss.

Bernard Laporte, the coach of the French national team, was at the match to assess the form of the Gloucester stand-off Mercier and the hooker Olivier Azam. Mercier contributed 18 points but was generally outplayed by his opposite number, the Australian Manuel Edmonds. In any case, Mercier, who has the kick of a mule, is saddled with the pace of a packhorse. A good servant to Gloucester, he is not up to speed as an international No 10.

Edmonds, who formed an effective link with a dynamic back row in which Lionel Mallier was outstanding (his reward was to be replaced), scored Perpignan's first try and by half-time had notched up 18 points. Then came the great reprieve. At the end McHugh was given the thumbs-down by the crowd but Gloucester survived to fight another day.

Perpignan: Tries Edmonds, Mas, Giordani. Conversions Edmonds 2. Penalties Edmonds 4. Gloucester: Tries Boer, Mercier. Conversions Mercier 2. Penalties Mercier 3.

Perpignan: J-M Souverbie; P Bomati, P Giordani, C Manas, F Cermeno; M Edmonds, L Loustau (J Basset, 68), R Peillard, M Konieckiewicz (capt) (F Rofes, 57), N Mas (S de Besombes, 57), J Thion, R Alvarez Kairelis (C Porcu, 62), G Le Corvec, P Murphy (N Couttet, 74), L Mallier (S Deroeux, 68).

Gloucester: H Paul (C Catling, 69), M Garvey (T Beim, 74), T Fanolua, R Todd, T Delporte; L Mercier, A Gomarsall; R Roncero, O Azam, P Vickery (capt), A Eustace, M Cornwell, J Boer, J Paramore, P Buxton (J Forrester, 65).

Referee: D McHugh (Ireland).