Following on from a mauling defeat at the Wreck in a mud-bath, Gloucester were comprehensively out-muscled in the wet of West Wales by a sharper Ospreys side, who out-smarted the visitors in all departments.
Once again Gloucester had no answer to a robust physical pack of forwards but unlike Bath, Ospreys had the benefit of a genuine top class performer - former All Black scrum half Justin Marshall, who with James Hook controlled the game throughout.
Ospreys dominated the game for long periods to keep Gloucester on the back foot, thanks particularly to a rampant forward effort which set up a plentiful supply of possession which enabled their half backs to pull the strings whilst Gloucester's unconvincing pairing of Gareth Cooper with Ryan Lamb were living off scraps and looking like poor journeymen in comparison .
Marshall did little to endear himself to the traveling Cherry and White fans when he shot out from a ruck with a football style dive which won a penalty for his side and cost Peter Buxton a yellow card.
The boos followed him back to half-way but he could afford to smile as he had the last laugh when Hook kicked the goal.
Classic gamesmanship - All Black style!
It was billed as a must-win game for Ospreys, the big spenders of Welsh rugby, to further their Heineken Cup ambitions - they rose to the occasion, duly performed and deservedly won. Gloucester did not perform and rightly lost.
On this showing Gloucester's poor showing and recent dip in form is of real concern, as qualification for a home game the quarter-finals is no certainty if the Welsh side perform in France against Bourgoin.
Gloucester leaked penalties throughout and Hook duly supplied a tally of 22 points with his boot and ensured the visitors were never in the game and raised increasing doubts as to whether the Cherry and Whites are quite as good as some people have imagined and on the showing over the last two weeks are not true Championship material.
Even though Gloucester lost Alex Brown early on with an arm injury, the line-out did perform better but the side never looked totally secure under the barrage of high balls which kept their defence under pressure.
Thanks to the boot of Hook and Gloucester's indiscipline, the home side built up a healthy first-half lead with Ospreys' first try coming from a shocking schoolboy error. Gloucester committed the cardinal sin of allowing the ball to bounce from an up and under which allowed Shane Williams to score in the corner and in twenty minutes a comfortable lead of 13 points had been secured.
Ryan Lamb did kick a penalty but that was all Gloucester had to show at half-time and were not in serious contention.
After the break Gloucester continued to struggle in the wet conditions and although Dean Ryan rang the changes it made no difference. The rain increased, the penalties were still conceded and punished by Hook but worse was to come for the Cherry and Whites as replacements Luke Narraway and Ollie Azam were both sin-binned within minutes of each other.
No team can afford to lose two players for any length of time and although live-wire replacement scrum half Rory Lawson scored a brilliant solo try Gloucester were up against it and eventually after a series of un-contested scrums Ospreys' pressure finally cracked the Gloucester defence with their second try.
Ryan Lamb did score a late try but Gloucester were well and truly beaten.
The Cherry and Whites received a hiding for the second time this year and although they are top of their Pool have done nothing to impress in recent weeks. With the likes of Wasps and Leicester looming large on the Premiership horizon Dean Ryan and Co. have some sorting out to do in the coming weeks.
Much is said from the coaching set-up about 'progress' and 'continuing to move forward' but there was little on show at the Liberty Stadium to be positive about and inspire confidence.
T.H. 13/1/2008

Pricey's Postscript
After I got home last night I slipped down to the Boat and sank a few pints and contemplated the evenings performance at Swansea.
I returned home to sleep on that same contemplation but alas I'm still none the wiser.
How can a team that has been the stand-out performers both in the Guinness Premiership and the Heineken Cup this season all of a sudden resemble a rabble of no hopers?
Last week Gloucester were pummeled by Bath although the final score didn't reflect it.
This week they were taken apart by Ospreys. On field discipline, which up to now has been exceptional, suddenly disintegrated with penalty after penalty and three yellow cards. Errors not even committed by schoolboys abounded and it was probably only a result of inept play by Ospreys that the home team didn't score a sackful of tries to add a bonus point to the four points earned easily in the win.
Perhaps Gloucester's game plan has now been sussed by one and all? Perhaps we don't like wet conditions? Perhaps there has been too much tinkering with selection? What I do know is that the wheels somehow have fallen off and there doesn't seem anybody who knows how to put them back on.
Thankfully the line-out functioned well last night and we stole quite a bit of their ball. I dread to think what the score would have been had that area of our game matched previous nadirs.
No doubt we shall be enlightened by Dean Ryan as to the reason of our recent demise. I shall await his missive in confusion, concern and on-going mental anguish.
J.G.P. 13/1/2008