Stade Aimee Giral                        Heineken Cup                              Saturday 14 December 2002
Perpignan 31 Gloucester 23

ANYONE who read the final score-line could be forgiven for thinking that it was a closely contested Heineken Cup match. How very wrong.
    In actual fact Gloucester were totally out of contention for the vast majority of the game by a Perpignan side who dominated the forward exchanges with a ferocity the Cherry and Whites could not contain either in the loose or in the set pieces. Indeed at one stage the French side had a deserved lead of 31-6 such was their absolute control.
    Few, if any, of the Gloucester supporters or players can have experienced such an intense and intimidating hostile atmosphere as that at the Stade Aime-Giral - it made a visit to Welford Road seem like a Sunday School outing !
    Perpignan is the very heart of Catalan country. Its people are fiercely independent. ‘We are Not French’! This spirit is expressed on and off the rugby field with a ferocity that is difficult to imagine. The non-stop blaring music from the bands backed up by the noisiest of partisan crowds all contribute to an intensity that boils up in a cauldron of true Catalan passion and emotion.
     Quite why Perpignan have no players in the French national squad remains a mystery on this showing. How come they haven’t won a league game a couple of months?
    It was very much a one-sided contest until the final quarter when fate and the referee had a hand in things.
    Perpignan then chose to replace half of their highly successful pack. Gloucester chose to bring on James Forrester and his extra pace in the back row was soon evident.
    Then the final twist in the tail as Irish referee David McHugh sin-binned Pascal Giordani for not retreating and deliberately obstructing Andy Gomarsall’s attempted quick penalty. The home crowd were incensed, especially as earlier Gommarsall had appeared to trip an opponent but was not carded.
    The home side had opened with a fury that threatened to overwhelm Gloucester and for long periods they were fighting a desperate rear-guard action. Gloucester managed only a couple of excursions into their opponent’s half during the first period and had to thank Ludovic Mercier for two successful penalty kicks from near the half-way line for their only scores.
    Australian fly half Manny Edmunds set the scoreboard moving with three penalties and then converted his own solo try. He then produced a well judged kick ahead for centre Giordano and virtually ran the game single-handed to finish up with 21 points from the match.
    Under almost non-stop relentless pressure made an over ambitious attempt to open up from their own line whwn a tap penalty move went badly wrong. The rampant Perpignan pack took full advantage to drive over in first half injury time to open up a lead of 23-6.
    As expected, Perpignan were impressive in the scrum, pressurising the Gloucester front throughout until the replacements arrived and for once the back row was on the back foot for long periods. Living on scraps of possession Gloucester were hassled into committing too many errors and consequently created little behind the scrum.
    Gloucester had needed a strong start in the first half hour but failed as the home side seized the initiative.
    Having elected to play against the stiff breeze in the first half, the anticipated advantage faded as the wind dropped. Gloucester needed to score first after the interval but had no answer to their opponents who increased their lead to 31-9. The Cherry and Whites struggled to get out of their own territory and were almost dead and buried.
    With the changes in the Perpignan personnel and the sin-binning Gloucester at last began to move forward and Jake Boer was on hand to finish off a typical catch and drive move.
    Forrester then drove to the line where the ball was worked back to Ludo who sliced through the defence to score a converted try to add to his previous three penalties and conversion.
    The two late tries could prove to be absolutely crucial for Gloucester, if, with Munster and Perpignan, all three sides finish up all square at the finish of the Pool stages.
    Gloucester were flattered by the final score and are not playing with much conviction at the moment and were outgunned in all phases of the game.
    Away games are becoming increasingly important. The next Zurich premiership encounter is against top form side Northampton. The next Heineken Cup is Munster in Ireland, who have never lost a home tie in Limerick.