The two fly half's, Brad Davies and Adrian Jarvis, exchanged penalties in the opening stages, before Gloucester hooker Rob Elloway intercepted and sprinted clear from 30 metres out to score the first try of the night. Davies converted and then kicked a second penalty to make the score 13-3 to the home side.

Quins fought back, scoring their opening try at the end of the first quarter. An inside pass from Jarvis to Brown allowed the centre to burst through the Gloucester defence and touchdown for the five points, with Jarvis adding the two on offer from the conversion.

However, it was the hosts who re-established a two-score lead following a mistake from Luther Marais. The full back saw his attempted clearance deep in Quins twenty-two charged down, presenting Gloucester number eight Luke Narraway with a simple score.

The deficit was reduced to just a single point after the visitors claimed their second try through Burke. Tony Diprose won a lineout close to the Gloucester line and his pass to Burke allowed the second row to power his way through for the score. A successful conversion from Jarvis made it 18-17 to the Cherry and Whites.

There was still time before the interval for Gloucester to restore their eight-point advantage, with full back Olly Morgan capitalising on a mistake from Ian Vass to claim the home sides third try. Davies converted to make the score 25-17 at the halfway stage.

11 minutes after the restart and Gloucester extended their lead further as Simon Amor and ex-Quin Anthony Allen combined to give winger James Bailey a simple run-in down the left flank. The visitors kept themselves in contention when Amesbury gathered a chip through from Jarvis to score under the posts. A third conversion from Jarvis meant the difference between the two sides on the scoreboard was down to six points (30-24).

However, any thoughts Quins had of claiming a victory evaporated once Marcel Garvey made the most of a turnover of possession to sprint clear down the touchline for Gloucester's fifth and final try.

Final score, 35-24.

Gloucester XV: 15. Olly Morgan, 14. Marcel Garvey, 13. Anthony Allen, 12. Reuban Aiano, 11. James Bailey, 10. Brad Davies, 9. Simon Amor, 1. Nick Wood, 2. Rob Elloway, 3. Jack Forster, 4. Quinton Davids, 5. Mark Cornwell, 6. Will Matthews, 7. James Merriman, 8. Luke Narraway

Replacements: Terry Sigley, Dan Tuohy, Will Merrivale

Scorers:
Tries: Morgan, Garvey, Bailey, Elloway, Narraway
Conversion: Davies (2)
Penalty: Davies (2)

NEC Harlequins XV: 15. Luther Marais, 14. Kiba Richards, 13. Mike Brown, 12. Jordan Turner-Hall, 11. Charlie Amesbury, 10. Adrian Jarvis, 9. Ian Vass, 1. Aston Croall, 2. Jimmy Richards, 3. Lorne Ward, 4. Kevin Burke, 5. George Robson, 6. Tom Guest, 7. Luke Sherriff, 8. Tony Diprose

Replacements: 16. James Hayter, 17. Mike Worsley, 18. Alex Rogers, 19. James Inglis, 20. Simon Keogh, 21. Mel Deane, 22. Justin Jones

Scorers:
Tries: Brown, Amesbury, Burke
Conversion: Jarvis (3)
Penalty: Jarvis