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Last Updated: Sunday, 20 November 2005, 17:09 GMT

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London Irish 25-10 Gloucester

MATCH SUMMARY

Barry Everitt in action for London Irish

London Irish: 25 (15)
Try: Strudwick
Con: Everitt
Pens: Everitt (6)

Gloucester: 10 (3)
Try: Richards
Con: Mercier
Pen: Mercier

London Irish fly-half Barry Everitt kicked six penalties and a conversion to help condemn Gloucester to their second successive defeat.

While the Irishman was on top form, his opposite number Ludovic Mercier managed just one penalty and a lone conversion.

The visitors also had to contend with the loss of key forward Jake Boer to injury after just 15 minutes.

Peter Richards grabbed a 70th-minute try for Gloucester but Ryan Strudwick's late score sealed it for the Exiles.

Everitt was first on the scoreboard with a fourth-minute penalty and the number 10 kept the momentum going with two more successful kicks as South African powerhouse Boer limped off the field.

Mercier clawed back three points but with Gloucester uncharacteristically losing their own line-out time and time again they paid the price.

Again Everitt was the executioner, slotting home another six points before the break and putting the Exiles 15-3 ahead.

Gloucester did not give up though and after the re-start upped the ante. A well-worked line-out catch and drive nearly put the west country outfit back in the reckoning, though their efforts again proved fruitless.

Everitt added his sixth penalty to increase Irish's advantage to 15 points until a lucky charge down from replacement Richards on Everitt's clearance produced the first try of the afternoon.

With Mercier converting Gloucester looked like they were back in the thick of the action.

But instead it was home favourite Strudwick who had the final word when he broke loose from the scrum to power his way over the try line.

And Everitt duly converted to seal the deserved victory.

London Irish coach Brian Smith:
"We are very happy with the result and even happier to be up to third in the league.

"We have three wins from three games this month and that is good progress so we have to keep the momentum going."

"They got really frustrated with us. We won ugly but I'd rather win ugly than lose ugly," added captain Mike Catt.

Gloucester boss Dean Ryan:
"We have lost some of our key decision makers including Alex Brown (injured), but we need our guys to step up and they haven't done that.

"We've taken his role in this squad for granted for too long and because of that we looked startled and surprised.

"We can't base a side around one man. If that's a lesson we have to learn publicly then so be it."

London Irish: Flutey; Armitage, Penney, Catt, Bishop; Everitt, Willis; Hatley, Coetzee, Rautembach; Casey, Kennedy; Roche, Danaher, Murphy.
Replacements: Mordt for Catt (75), Hodgson for Willis (69), Russell for Coetzee (69), Skuse for Rautembach (61), Strudwick for Casey (77), Gustard for Murphy (61).
Not Used: Horak.

Gloucester: Morgan; Garvey, Simpson-Daniel, Fanolua, Thirlby; Mercier, Thomas; Collazo, Parkes, Powell; Eustace, Davids; Buxton, Boer, Forrester.
Replacements: B Davies for Garvey (73), Allen for Fanolua (59), Richards for Thomas (40), Wood for Collazo (16), Balding for Boer (10).
Not Used: Elloway, Pendlebury.

Sin bin: Eustace (49), Buxton (76).

Att: 9,027

Referee: Ashley Rowden (RFU)

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