More than 15,000 crammed themselves inside Kingsholm for the opening of the new C&G Grandstand and Gloucester responded with a three tries to one victory that consolidates their position as early season pace setters.

But it was far from a thing of comfort. Worcester's ferocious approach at the set scrum, the line-out and the contact area has been well documented for seasons but under Mike Ruddock they like to play a bit too and they stretched the boundaries of this contest well into the final quarter to emphasise the troubles they caused Gloucester.

They asked any number of questions at the sharp end of the contest and in the hard running of Dale Rasmussen, the creative hands of Shane Drahm and the power of Dominci Feaunati, it was full metal jacket time long before Mike Tindall sealed the contest with a try in the 79th minute.

It was some return for Tindall, out for five months with a broken leg. He was tested to the limits in defence, ran hard as ever and will be pleased to get the extra miles in his legs.

Gloucester couldn't even rely on a steady stream of points from the boot of Ryan Lamb to ease the pressure or create a platform - two kickable penalties went begging in the first-half - but the Gloucester stand-off had a good day with ball in hand against a defensive pattern that gave away very little.

He generally made good decisions, shifted possession around neatly and got the hosts turning over in his own style. Chances were few and far between early on as both packs set about each in some sort of fashion.

Worcester, characteristically led by Pat Sanderson and Drew Hickey maintained the pressure up front in the opening quarter and they also involved Marcel Garvey as a strike runner to keep Gloucester penned in for long periods.

Gloucester's best opportunity involved Tindall, who careered onto a pass from Anthony Allen but Luke Narraway knocked on at the breakdown. The first-half was a tale of errors as neither side settled into a cohesive pattern despite some solid running from James Bailey and the usual grunt and gruff up front.

Opportunities arose more by accident than design as the contest was dominated by two raging forward packs who slugged it out at the scrum, line-out and contact area. Gloucester did take a 6-0 lead into the break with them when Worcester conceded a penalty at a scrum after 38 minutes but it was as slender as it sounded.

However, the game burst into life after 47 minute with the game's opening try and it belonged in the little book of gems reserved for James Simpson-Daniel. James Brown flung out a long pass to the left that skidded all the way through to the Gloucester winger.
Hugging the touchline, he escaped past Rasmussen, skated past Thinus Delport and had more than enough gas to reach the line for a wonderful score. Lamb converted to put Gloucester 16-0 ahead.

It was just what the occasion needed but did little to ease the tension. Gloucester needed all the hunter-gatherer qualities of Andy Hazell, relentless on the flanks, Nick Wood and Alasdair Strokosch to keep Worcester at arm's length but when Hickey claimed a line-out catch close to the line, replacement Gavin Quinnell thundered through Alex Brown and managed to ground the ball before Hazell could rip the ball free.

It made the score 18-9 and dragged Worcester, temporarily at least, back into the game. Their recovery lasted less than two minutes when Brown dragged in a line-out catch and his forward partners swarmed forward to allow Olivier Azam to score.

Slowly but surely, Gloucester were arriving where they wanted to be - in a winning situation. Lamb buzzed over a drop-goal to take the hosts 24-7 ahead with seven minutes remaining after Sanderson was yellow carded for an offence at the tackle area.

And Gloucester put the seal on another vital victory in the last minute. Lamb chipped behind the Worcester defence and although not his best kick, Simpson-Daniel chased hard, Tindall arrived too and the centre touched down after a hand from Marcel Garvey.
The score summed up the night - hard earned but priceless - just like Gloucester's four points.