As the score suggests Irish humiliated the Cherry and Whites without too much trouble.
The match was effectively over at half-time with the home side in a commanding lead 23-3.
The stark reality of the situation was the fact that once again Gloucester’s pack was not fit for purpose.
Outplayed in every phase of the game.
The scrum was so poor it was an embarrassment, the line-out little better and the whole team was put under unrelenting pressure throughout.
The simple fact of the matter is the present pack is just not physically strong enough. It has been said all too often in the past that the grunt starts up front. Against Irish it was more of a low pitched sigh from Gloucester.
Forced to live off scraps, this Gloucester team looked a very ordinary bunch of no-hopers and on this form a mid-table Premiership position will take some securing.
No forward came up to the mark, the front row outclassed, the second row struggled, the back row was anonymous and the cause was not helped by continual ill discipline that resulted in referee Dean Richards issuing four yellow cards to the visitors on top of the raft of penalties that they conceded.
Is this a record?
At any level of rugby to lose one player is difficult to cope with but for Gloucester it was an absolute disaster—it seemed that for most of the second half they only had fourteen players on the pitch.
Both props were changed at the interval but the pack still went back.
Charlie Sharples scored a consolation try but Gloucester looked vulnerable on the wings against a strong robust back division.
Against a poor Bath side Gloucester looked a decent side but up against Irish it was completely different. There is no doubt that the Gloucester team looked a very poor side. Quite how good Irish are remains to be seen but they were streets ahead of Gloucester in all departments. Men against boys. A rabble against real rugby.
With the players available at Kingsholm this season it is difficult to see how the pack can be bolstered and unless there is a dramatic improvement in the performance of all the forwards it is going to be a very long hard winter.
Irish were much better at the breakdown where Gloucester struggled with the almost inevitable slow ball and were never able to secure enough possession to mount anything like pressure.
It was depressing to watch so-called talented players never look like scoring, let alone making a contest of the match. However in marked contrast it seemed that every time Irish launched an attack they looked like scoring.
Ex Gloucester fly-half Ryan Lamb collected 20 points but he had a very easy time behind his dominant pack.
It was almost like watching a replay of the matches at the end of last season and Redpath & Co, have a major job on their hands to rebuild the morale before the Saints come marching in to Kingsholm, doubtless Mr Hartley will fancy his team’s chances when they have had a look at Gloucester’s video horror show.
Come to think of it we conceded 42 points to Irish last season and 40 to Northampton. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself next week.
T.H.-13/9/2009

Pricey's Postscript
We were lucky it was kept to 40. Irish could have been into the 30's at half time had they gone for the jugular by kicking penalties for the line-out rather than the three points.
The pack was demolished at the scrum and the only safe line-out ball was at the front. I lost count of the penalties conceded for either not releasing or coming in from the side.
The 3 sin bins were spot on and in Qera's case it should have 20 minutes for being stupid, too.
Irish moved the ball away from the breakdown very quickly by using their centres to carve up the mid-field and as a result the defence was always stretched. .
By contrast Gloucester kept the ball close to the breakdown and were soon snaffled out of it.
No doubt the papers will laud Lamb on his performance. He was very efficient but he could have been wearing carpet slippers and reading the newspaper from the arm chair ride he got.
Robinson was under pressure all afternoon but all too often for my liking chose the wrong option. Poorly executed up and unders, rather than kicking for distance and touch. Trying to run from half-way rather than put the ball into the corner.
All in all a very poor performance and wake up call that the pack is barely average and back-up in the three-quarters is thin.
P.S. I understand that there was another yellow card at the end but I was already out of the ground by then!
John Price - 13/9/2009
What can one say an ill-disciplined performance by a side over-run and outplayed in all departments. I said last week that we looked good against what was a poor Bath side on this performance we will be joining them nearer to the bottom of the table than the top. We have let some class players leave the club and replaced them with mediocre ones. I can't wait for next week there has to be changes and there has to be a more disciplined approach or Northampton will run in 40+ points.…
Mike