By Cherrybomb
October 13 2002

What a start. Despite being (officially) second favourites for this match, we all knew how it was going to go. Will we be beaten at home this season? With a performance like this is seems unlikely. And it was all really pretty simple. Keep the ball, score the points. Gloucester 35-16 Munster. And to be fair Munster didn't deserve the 16. No doubt people will be degrading their performance, but how do you score when you don't have the ball? It was all so simple from Gloucester who dominated the match from begining to end, wearing them down first of all and then tearing them apart with speed, agility and power.

The match, in typical Heineken Cup fashion, began extremely tightly. Gloucester had most the ball but didn't seem like they were capable of breaking the line. Munster occasionally broke through, but the Gloucester defence was tight to be broken. The only action of the first 35 minutes were penalties, two to Mercier (one converted) , and one for O'Gara.

The first try of the afternoon came after more Gloucester pressure, which seemed to be going nowhere. As the ball was spread to Mercier, he waited for a gap to open and sent a grubber through. Despite Marcel Garvey always being second favourite for the ball as he screeched down the right wing, he managed to get a foot to it as the full back threw his body across the pitch. Garvey was also first to the ball when it had crossed the line, and went down to send the 11,000 crowd ballistic.

Before the break Mercier scored a penalty to leave a pretty good gap between the two sides, but O'Gara struck again to make the score 16-9 at half time.

Now, according to the BBC the wind was worth 10 points. (How do they work that out?) Even at half time Jonathon Davies and Jerry Guscott favoured Munster. But wind is no obstacle for a Gloucester team raring with passion, fuelled by a crowd which loves a European showdown.

Gloucester's simple game planned worked a treat. Keep the ball, keep the ball, keep the ball. And they did so brilliantly. Munster did all they could to defend, but that was all they could do. Gloucester strengthened their lead with a more traditional try.

A perfectly weighted Mercier kick to the touch-line set up the line out. It was released in the usual way for the maul, but Munster understood the threat and almost wiped it out. However, the likes of Olivier Azam and Jake Boer don't give up easily, and the latter managed to just get the ball down over the line.

The next came from the Frenchman who had controlled the game from fly-half, and dominated with the boot. Munster had won a line out, which was stolen by the Gloucester line. (Admittedly unfairly). After the ball was recycled Gomarsall went for the line but fell just short. The ball was again spread out though and this time Mercier did have the arms to place the ball over the line. He also converted.

By this time the match was over, but Gloucester still had time for more. They scrambled a maul together which drove over the line, and again Boer was the last to come up.

Munster did get a consolation try at the end which may prove useful in the future, but it was Gloucester's day. A rendition of 'We Are The Gloucester Boys' sent the Munster fans home in a fitting way. And for those of you who don't know the song, here it is. Let's try and get it going a bit more often. If anybody has the rest of the song please post it on the messageboard.

Maggie Dear, a pint of beer a woodbine and a match
A tu'ppeny ha'penny stick of rock and we're off to the football(can probably be replaced with rugby now) match
To see old (Vickery/Garvey etc) score a try, the best try in the land
Singing we are the Gloster boys

(chorus)
We are the Gloster bo-o-oys!We are the Gloster bo-o-oys!
We mind our manners
We spend out tanners
We are respected wherever we may go
And when we're walking down the Kingsholm/Bristol Road
Doors and windows open wide
You can hear the (captain/buggers) shout
'Put that bloody Woodbine out!
'Singing we are the Gloster boys.