True, it was not the massive victory of last season, but a young team performed with their customary enthusiasm, skill and very obvious enjoyment in running rugby.

A try in the second minute of the match gave Harlequins a lead which they never lost. From a penalty inside their opponent's 22 metre line, the ball was sent across towards the right until it reached Andy Reay whose deft pass put Henry Barratt in under the posts. Staunton added the extra points and Quins led 7 - 0.

Despite Gloucester's repeated counterattacks, they rarely were able to leave their own half of the field. It was not until some 12 minutes had elapsed that they crossed into Quins' territory and were awarded a penalty which Lamb contrived to go between the posts to make the score 7 - 3.

But Quins were quicker to the breakdown, supported well and retained the ball well. They continued to attack at every opportunity. A fine run by Barratt ended when he slipped with the line less than ten metres away and was then penalised for not releasing the ball. Shortly after, Quins were again on the attack with an excellent series of passes by the backs until Tom Williams final pass to the potential scorer was intercepted by a Gloucester player.

A minute or two later, with a penalty to Quins for a hand in the ruck on the opposition 5 metre line, Quins attacked again. The penalty became a line-out and then a catch and drive. Pulled down by the opposition and with the referee signalling advantage for a penalty, the maul reformed and rolled over the Gloucester line for Tom Guest to touch down. Staunton's kick from the touchline curled across the front of the posts. 12 - 3

An unfortunate collision between Masson and a Gloucester centre left Masson rather groggy and he was replaced by Mike Brown with Barratt moving into the centre after 15 minutes.

Another fine run by Joe Mbu was just forced into touch before the line and Quins kept the pressure up with virtually the whole game being played inside the Gloucester half apart from sporadic attacks. One such foray yielded Gloucester a penalty and a subsequent line-out in the Quins twenty-two. But the maul was pushed back by the Quins pack, although they gave away another penalty. The attempt at the posts was missed and Quins resumed their attack.

From the restart drop out fast following up brought a penalty after good work by Dott and Winter but the subsequent line-out was wasted as was another good attack by the three-quarters when Mbu's pass went harmlessly into touch.

Gloucester kicked off the second half and immediately a fine run by Tom Williams thrust straight through the centre of Gloucester's defence. More penetration by forwards and backs in combination saw Jarvis find the gap and cross for a fine try and he then added the conversion for Quins to lead 19 -3.

A good break from Simon Amor gave Gloucester some hope but the Quins defence held firm despite conceding a penalty and the visitors' poor line-out did not assist them. Quins resumed pressure on the Gloucester defence and twice were held up over the Gloucester line. Then a fine cross kick to the right corner was well caught by Joe Mbu despite the attentions of a tackler and the winger crossed the line for the first of three tries scored on his debut for the Club. Jarvis added the conversion to bring the score to 26 - 3 as the game moved into the last quarter.

Now Quins were in full flow and again the play was nearly all in the Gloucester half of the field. Joe Mbu had been threatening to score on several occasions during the match. This time he showed both pace and strength in handing off the full-back's tackle and running round to score under the posts, The simple conversion left Quins 33 - 3 with ten minutes to play.

With some desperation Gloucester launched a more penetrating attack and a missed tackle allowed Teague to cross for a consolation try. The conversion attempt failed. 33 - 8.

But Quins were not finished. Another attack saw a chip through from Horstmann wholly misfielded by the Gloucester defender leaving Joe Mbu the simple pick -up and score to complete his hat-trick. Jarvis failed with the conversion. 38 - 8.

This was a fine win which leaves Quins at the top of the Southern section of the Zurich A league with maximum points. London Wasps are a point behind. In the Northern Section, last season's finalists, Northampton, also have maximum points with Leicester a point behind.

There was good support last night and, hopefully, this will increase. The next home match in the A league is on Monday 27th September against Bath.

TEAMS:

NEC Harlequins XV: 15. Tom Williams, 14. Joe Mbu, 13. Tosh Masson, 12. Andy Reay, 11. Henry Barratt, 10. Jeremy Staunton, 9. Duncan James, 1. Tom Muggridge, 2. Cameron Dott, 3. Mark Lambert, 4. Opeta Palepoi, 5. Roy Winters, 6. Nick Easter, 7. Tom Guest, 8. Kai Horstmann
Replacements: Maurice Fitz Gerald, Mark Abel, George Robson, Gavin Hart, Simon Keogh, Adrian Jarvis, Mike Brown
Scorers:
Tries: Barratt, Guest, Jarvis, Mbu (3)
Conversions: Staunton, Jarvis (3)

Gloucester XV: 15. Olly Morgan, 14. Mark Foster, 13. Nathan Mauger, 12. Brad Davies, 11. James Bailey, 10. Ryan Lamb, 9. Simon Amor, 1. Nick Wood, 2. James Parkes, 3. Simon Emms, 4. Jimmy Roberts, 5. Paul Keily, 6. John Bourne, 7. Will Matthews, 8. Luke Narraway
Replacements: Rob Elloway, Paul Price, James Tideswell, Rory Teague, Leon Liggett, Nick Runcimen, Rob Shea
Scorers:
Tries: Teague
Penalties: Lamb

Referee: W. Barnes (RFU)

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