Munster 26 Gloucester 10: match report However, if Gloucester proved anything against Perpignan the previous week, it is that they do not lack the belief or ability to claw their way back and this time one of Davies's selections paid off handsomely. Dan Robson kicked Gloucester upfield and the chase by Jonny May was just as effective as Gloucester gained a foothold in Munster territory. Rupert Harden and Matt Cox provided the bulwark from the resulting drive and with Munster anticipating the next forward to take up the charge, Robson cleverly switched tack and instead released Sharples, who skipped over in the corner for the game's opening try. Bentley steered over his conversion from close to the touchline, and the seven points were a breath of fresh air for Gloucester. The pace of Sharples clearly worried Munster any time he came close to the ball, while Mike Tindall was effective in making headway in midfield. Munster proved they were full of running as well through Felix Jones, Keith Earls and Johne Murphy, but failed to get outside Gloucester's pink and blue wall - the colour of their change kit - despite Laulala's creativity. Munster needed a score, so they reverted to type and there are few teams in Europe so proficient at the driving line-out as the men from Thomond Park - and so it proved as hooker Peter O'Mahony trundled after the rest of his pack as Gloucester's resistance broke. However Bentley's penalty a minute before half-time cut the deficit to 16-10 and offered Gloucester a glimmer of light before the break. Gloucester braced themselves for the Irish fury in the opening exchanges and if there was one area they enjoyed superiority it was at the scrum where Harden, Darren Dawiduik and Dan Murphy gained the upper hand. Freddie Burns entered the fray on 50 minutes and proved a picture of composure as Keatley looked to pin back the visitors. Yet Rob Cook soaked up anything that came his way and also showed an exciting willingness to launch a counter-attack from any opportunity. Gloucester's scrum proved a defensive weapon as well, Munster No8 O'Mahony fumbling a promising position on the back foot though a penalty still allowed Keatley to open a nine-point lead that would deny Gloucester a losing bonus. That was all they were left to reasonably look for just a minute later when Murphy plucked Munster's second try from the Limerick sky. Cook failed to gather another clever hoisted kick by Murphy after colliding with Donnacha Ryan. Munster recovered and Keatley swiftly spotted the acres of field out wide and delivered a delightfully weighted cross-field kick that Murphy simply had to gather and score. Keatley has had big shoes to fill following the retirement of Ronan O'Gara but it was a moment of precision in the heat of battle that was befitting of his predecessor. Munster: Jones, Earls, Laulala, Downey, J. Murphy, Keatley, Murray, Kilcoyne, Varley, Botha, D. O'Callaghan, O'Connell, D. Ryan, Ronan, P. O'Mahony. Replacements: Sherry, Cronin, Archer, Coughlan, Stander, Sheridan, Hanrahan, Hurley. Gloucester: M. Thomas, Sharples, Tindall, Mills, May, Bentley, Robson, Murphy, Dawidiuk, Harden, Lokotui, James, Cox, Qera, B. Morgan. Replacements: George, Gibbons, Y. Thomas, Hudson, Evans, Knoyle, Burns, Cook. Referee: Jerome Garces (France)