Cardiff 37 Gloucester 24

GLOUCESTER produced a loose performance which resulted in a heavy defeat to a Cardiff side who feasted on their errors.

There was not even a bonus point for the Cherry and Whites to take home from the Millennium Stadium, as Cardiff bagged four tries and five points of their own to put them in command in Group Six.

Three of Cardiff's tries came in a first half of 40 points, Gloucester scoring two of their own.

The Blues started sharply, moving into a 13-3 lead thanks to a score from Leigh Halfpenny.

Gloucester came back and led 17-13 thanks to tries from Olly Morgan and Iain Balshaw on 22 and 31, but five minutes of madness cost them dear.

First Olly Barkley tries a needless flick pass which went to groud, gifting Halfpenny his second, before Gareth Thomas rounded off a lovely move involving a blistering Ben Blair break to put his side 10 point up at the interval.

Gloucester never really recovered, despite a second from Balshaw after good hands from Barkley, Mike Tindall and Lesley Vainikolo on 49.

A simple score for Blues fly half Nick Robinson secured the bonus point on 62 as try as they might, Gloucester could not get back into it again.

Gloucester: O Morgan, I Balshaw, M Tindall (capt), O Barkley, J Simpson-Daniel, R Lamb, G Cooper, A Dickinson, O Azam (Sinbin 69/79), C Nieto, M Bortolami, A Brown, P Buxton, A Strokosch, L Narraway. Reps: S Lawson, J Forster, A Eustace, A Hazell, R Lawson, W Walker, L Vainikolo.

Cardiff: B Blair, L Halfpenny, J Robinson, T Shanklin, G Thomas, N Robinson, J Spice, G Jenkins, T R Thomas, G Powell, D Jones, P Tito (capt), M Moltka, M Williams, A Powell. Reps: T Filise, G Williams, S Morgan, R Rees, R Sowden Taylor, C Sweeney, J Roberts.

Ref: A Rolland (Ireland)

Att: 27,114