Gloucester vs Zebre match report: Slumbers in second half cost Gloucester bonus point

It must be hard to be a member of the Gloucester faithful these days. They follow a team that flatters to deceive far too frequently, as their win-loss sequence this season suggests, and here they opened their defence of the European Challenge Cup in a similar vein.

At the interval they had scored 23 points without reply and could cheerfully look forward to a try bonus, having already crossed for three. But in the second half they lost a man to the sin bin, struggled to control the ball in the wet conditions and could add nothing to their total, even though their Italian opponents never threatened to make up lost ground.

This was, of course, nothing like Gloucester’s optimum XV at the start of a six-day period in which they must play three matches - the third a Pool Four encounter next Thursday against La Rochelle (beaten by Worcester yesterday) in France, assuming that sporting fixtures have resumed after Friday night’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

They rested most of their front-liners yesterday, they will field several academy players against the Barbarians on Tuesday and are relatively untroubled by injuries. In addition, this game saw the return to action of Henry Trinder, the highly-rated centre now recovered from knee damage suffered in February, and the introduction of the 11-cap New Zealand lock, Jeremy Thrush.

“Jeremy’s been here for a week, he made a huge impression,” David Humphreys, Gloucester’s director of rugby, said. “With all he’s achieved, the expectation on him is going to be high but we have to give him time to settle in.”

Trinder, who was on the verge of an England cap two years ago, has emerged from a bleak period. Last season was lost, first to hamstring and shoulder injuries and then to the knee injury.

Humphreys was justifiably gratified by the first half which Gloucester controlled. With only eight minutes played, Billy Burns collected his own delicate chip, linked with Calum Braley and Ross Moriarty, giving Henry Purdy (pictured) a simple finish in the corner. Five minutes later came the second, more prosaic, try, when Thrush drove almost to the line and Moriarty struggled over.

After Burns had added a couple of penalties, Gloucester’s sense of adventure asserted itself. Rob Cook attacked from his own 22, delightful handling by backs and forwards gained ground before Burns sent Steve McColl charging over the last 25 metres for the try. Few thought that would be the last time Gloucester troubled the scorers.

But hints of what was to come came early in the second half. Gloucester won promising positions only to spoil them with passes knocked on or ball lost in the tackle. The hard-working No 8, Lewis Ludlow, left for the sin bin after a dangerous tackle and Zebre sensed an opportunity. They are the better of the two Italian sides in the GuinnessPro12 and their forwards showed why by grinding out a penalty try against their weakened hosts.

Before Ludlow’s return, the Gloucester front row conceded a penalty, kicked by Edoardo Padovani but there was no sense of the pendulum swinging too far. Gloucester finished in charge territorially, even if they could not make it tell with a fourth try. They will hope that loss of a bonus point does not come back to haunt them.

Gloucester: R Cook; S McColl, W Meakes (H Trinder, 59), M Atkinson, H Purdy; W Burns, C Braley (G Laidlaw, 66); Y Thomas (D Murphy, 53), T Lindsay (D Dawidiuk, 53), P Doran-Jones (N Thomas, 68), E Stooke, J Thrush (T Hicks, 66), R Moriarty, J Rowan (captain; D Thomas, 68), L Ludlow (sin bin 48-59).

Zebre: G Palazzani; D Berryman, G Bisegni (G Toniolatti, 60), M Pratichetti, L Sarto; E Padovani (C Canna, 63), M Violi (L Burgess, 66); A Lovotti (A de Marchi, 65), T D’Apice (O Fabiani, 45), D Chistolini (P Ceccarelli, 45), V Bernabo, M Bortolami (captain; G Biagi, 56), J Sarto (E Caffini, 64), J Meyer, F Ferrarini.

Referee: A Brace (Ireland)