Somehow Gloucester failed to qualify despite being equal on points with the two teams above, having the best offensive record, the second best defensive record and the best try scoring record. However we can't blame the system we have to blame the team.

To be totally fair it was more about the quality of the Irish then the poor performance of Gloucester. There were a few areas where Gloucester may have lost the game; firstly the lineout which was a shambles. We never competed for an opposition lineout, and rarely won our own. The Munster lineout, however, was a machine. Secondly, the back-line as a whole. The ball was badly spread and they never looked likely to break the game line. And thirdly, Henry Paul. Every single moment that he was involved he let the side down. It's not just a lack of quality, but a lack of effort. For the third try he jogged over to the player who scored, but he could have easily caught him if he put in some effort. Sometimes while playing at fullback he will even stand still and fold his arms. Not the attitude you want.

Ronan O'Gara put Munster's first points of the match on the board with a penalty. It came after the fly half sent a high up and under in to the air. Henry Paul, deep inside his own 22 with loads of time, failed to catch the ball. It look as though he tried to kick it! Munster put pressure on the Gloucester line which resulted in the penalty.

It was then Gloucester's turn to score. Ludovic Mercier slotted a penalty from distance, and it looked as though he was in form with the kicking boot.

Then came a simply fantastic bit of defence from Gloucester. Their defence throughout the match was worthy of medals, and this 10 minute spell of pressure looked certain to result in a try. It began when Mike Mullins broke away, and was somehow held up inches from the line. Despite the referee constantly rewarding penalties to Munster (they decided to scrummage), somehow Gloucester managed to hold on. Ludo cleared to touch after a turn over.

Munster did break the line soon after though. John Kelly scored in the corner when Gloucester failed to man mark properly, And O'Gara stuck the conversion over. Gloucester recovered well and Ludo put over another penalty.

O'Gara returned the favour after more Munster pressure, when he chose to kick the points instead of scrummaging.

Then came possibly the turning point in the game. Peter Buxton was sin-binned for heaven knows what and Munster made the advantage count deep in to first half injury time with a try in the corner, after a kick through. However replays showed that the scorer was in touch when he scored.

The second half started how the first half ended. Munster pressed like never before but the Gloucester defence was brilliant, and against all the odds stopped Munster scoring. A few minutes after Gloucester had cleared though Munster were rewarded a penalty, which O'Gara again slotted. The game was now out of reach for Gloucester, but they still needed to hold on to stay in the competition.

It looked as though Munster did have what they needed to qualify when they stretched even further in to the lead, with another chip and chase. This time Mick O'Driscoll scored in the corner, and O'Gara slotted the difficult conversion. Munster now led by 20 points, but to qualify they still needed 7 more points and one more try, without Gloucester scoring.

Unfortunately for Gloucester this happened. Azam was sin binned, and Munster continued to pressure. However Gloucester still defended soundly, and occasionally even looked like scoring themselves.

Gloucester only needed to hang on for another minute or so, but the fans were already downhearted by the appalling score line. As the game approached the 80th minute, Munster scored. Gloucester defended ruck after ruck but Munster managed to find a gap and score the all important 4th try, when John Kelly crossed. Now it was up to O'Gara. If he kicked the conversion Munster were through and Gloucester were out. If he missed it was the other way around. He nerves must have been frayed, but the experienced Lions player coolly stuck the ball between the posts.

Final Score: Munster 33 Gloucester 6

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