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Harlequins failed to get their stuttering season back on track with a defeat at the hands of Gloucester and a poor performance to match. Ross Chisholm ran in two tries for Quins but an inability to convert their second half pressure meant they had to settle for a losing bonus point.

Since December’s Heineken Cup heroics and the victory over Toulouse, Harlequins have failed to impress, losing to the likes of Northampton, Saracens and now Gloucester and scraping past Worcester and Exeter. Their run of dire form since the New Year has also seen them crash out of the Heineken Cup and the LV=Cup.

The Gloucester game was the sort of match they were taking a minimum of 4 points from prior to Christmas but they were left with huge regrets.

Saracens’ shock defeat to Worcester on Friday had meant Quins could reopen the ever closing gap at the top of the table. Victory would have given them a nine point lead but they too would slip up.

They started slowly and never really got back on track, going 10 points down within 10 minutes and managing to stay in touch with Gloucester but to never really take control of the game.

Sloppy defensive errors from the league leaders meant Gloucester were always going to have chances and Jonny May’s try only went to highlight this. He broke through the defence from just short of halfway to add Gloucester’s second try in the second half and boost talk of an England call up.

Late in the first half Quins were lucky to not be reduced to 14 when Ugo Monye was penalised for a high tackle.

The half time score of 21-13 highlighted the openness of the game and the extent to which Gloucester had dominated. Quins would not recover. Yes, they made more chances in the second half and had they been more clinical in their finishing could have run out with a victory but the killer instinct that was so present in the earlier parts of the season was certainly missing when they made it to Gloucester’s 22.

The Quins pack led by example and was able to give Quins the territory but a combination of resilient defence from Gloucester and a lack of ingenuity from Harelquins meant they never really looked like snatching victory. They did stop Gloucester securing a bonus point and snatched one of their own with a late touchline conversion from Evans.

Quins will now turn their focus to regaining some sort of form before next month’s clash with Saracens. Next up is a trip to Newcastle, a game Quins can expect to win, but the performance will be under scrutiny as much as the result

Harlequins struggled past Gloucester to keep their Heineken Cup dreams well and truly alive. Mike Brown’s try was just about enough to ensure the Quins inched through 20-14 to remain in touching distance of Pool leaders, Toulouse.

In the 73rd minute, Quins were trailing 14-13 and heading out of the competition, but a Danny Care kick was met by Brown and Harlequins seem now to be in an excellent position for a spot in the quarter finals as runners up at the very least and even keeping their outside chances of topping the group alive.

Brown was one of a number of Quins players to impress and is amongst a contingency of four players from the Stoop to be called into the England squad for the 6 Nations. His head coach Conor O’Shea has heaped praise on Brown for his recent performances, which he feels have put him in an excellent position to oust Ben Foden from the England full back position.

Gloucester had proved a difficult challenge for the Quins, who have cooled since their invincible start to the league campaign and the Quins were looking set to go out of the competition when on three occasions late on skipper Robshawe turned down kickable penalties to regain the lead from Gloucester. The gamble seemed to have back fired when they seemed to have wasted when a five metre scrum resulted in a scrappy penalty award to Glaws. Quins though composed themselves and created one last chance to secure their survival in the competition and eliminate their English rivals from the competition.

Quins next travel to Connauct, who are yet to register a win in this seasons tournament whilst Gloucester face a challenging visit from Toulouse. Gloucester will be looking to do themselves justice with their performance, and if they can stop the French side from winning Quins will be gifted a chance to top the group.