Harlequins are top of the Aviva Premiership and they are there on merit. They've already won at Kingsholm once this season and had no qualms about taking the game to the home side.

With Nick Evans as the fulcrum, as ever, they moved the ball around in some style, employing an offloading game which kept the ball constantly moving.

However, Gloucester have some talent of their own. An abrasive effort up front from the pack set the tone and Gloucester's backs delivered a collective performance that would have had the watching TV audience drooling.

Shrugging aside the early loss of scrum half Rory Lawson, an exclusively English back line looked threatening every time they touched the ball and the only disappointment was that a fourth try was elusive.

The names of Sharples, May and Burns will capture headlines and rightly so. However, the guile of James Simpson-Daniel was crucial as he maintained his recent good form.

Quins were never quite out of the game but they never quite got back on terms and Gloucester were worthy winners of a splendid contest.

Quins made a confident start, running the ball out from their own 22 with full back Chisholm showing his pace but conceded an early ruck penalty and Freddie Burns made no mistake from halfway for a 3-0 lead.

The visitors dominated possession for the next few minutes but were very nearly carved open by a scything run from James Simpson-Daniel who just couldn't get his offload away.

However, Gloucester were in scoring range and Simpson-Daniel came in off his wing again to bamboozle the Quins defence and put Charlie Sharples in for the game's first try. Burns converted for a 10-0 lead after 11 minutes.

It provoked a strong response from Quins and the Gloucester defence had to be strong. However, an early tackle from Akapusi Qera was spotted and Nick Evans opened up the visiting team's account.

And Evans was on target again after 20 minutes as Gloucester infringed after a loose clearance, the New Zealander's kick just having enough distance on it.

Bryan Redpath's side were being penalised frequently at this point, struggling to get any meaningful possession and Nick Evans was looking dangerous with ball in hand.

There was a chance for Burns to stretch the lead as Joe Gray failed to release the tackled player but his well struck kick faded just wide.

It was quickly forgotten as Jonny May struck from nowhere. With seemingly nothing on, May changed direction, broke a tackle and simply outgassed the defence for a 15-6 lead.

The reply was almost instantaneous as Ugo Monye rose magnificently to claim the restart but, despite driving almost to the line, Quins were penalised as the Gloucester defence, backed by superb support, dug deep to hold out.

Monye then became the pantomime villain of the piece as he took Charlie Sharples high but escaped with a lecture from Dave Pearson to the derision of the Shed.

Maybe justice was done moments later as the Quins front row slipped their bind at a scrum in the away 22 and Burns slotted an easy penalty for 18-6.

Again the riposte was impressive and, although Gloucester were defending well, they were unlocked by a neat grubber from Evans which stood up nicely for Chisholm who scored with ease. Evans added a straightforward conversion.

There was just time for the Gloucester front row to win another moral battle as they forced a penalty with time up on the clock and Burns nailed the penalty for an 18-13 half time lead.

The lead was useful but Quins had shown enough to mean that more scores would be needed. At times the visitors had started to go ominously through the gears.

Gloucester had weapons of their own and the defence had been solid so far but there was the feeling that there were plenty of twists and turns left in this one.

Quins drew first blood. Gloucester were on the back foot from the off and infringed at a scrum on their own put in. Evans made no mistake with his kick but neither did Burns just two minutes later to maintain the eight point gap.

Burns was off target with a 54th minute penalty but promptly created the third try, his show and go opening up Quins leading to Ryan Mills floating a long pass for Qera to score in the corner. 29-16 on the hour.

Burns was in near Barbarians mode. He made one break from behind his own line and then so nearly created the bonus point score with another show and go only for his ambitious pass to fail to find the mark.

Quins, for their part, were still trying to play rugby and still showing the odd flash of brilliance when their offloading game clicked. But time was now against them.

Gloucester pushed hard for the bonus point try but it was Quins who secured a losing bonus point when, with just seconds left, full back Chisholm scored a superb try from long range and Evans converted to make the final score 29-23.

The win takes Gloucester up to fifth place in the table and the team will be on good heart as they prepare for the trip up to Welford Road next Sunday to take on the Leicester Tigers.

A daunting trip indeed but momentum is with Gloucester at the moment as they push hard for a playoff place.

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