Gloucester may yet salvage something from a roller coaster season after a victory that keeps them in the hunt for the Premiership play-offs. Humiliated in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals by Wasps a week ago, they took their frustration out on London Irish to leave themselves two points behind Northampton in the race for the precious third place.

Gloucester may yet salvage something from a roller coaster season after a victory that keeps them in the hunt for the Premiership play-offs. Humiliated in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals by Wasps a week ago, they took their frustration out on London Irish to leave themselves two points behind Northampton in the race for the precious third place.

But with second-placed Wasps at home and table-toppers Bath away to come they have a tough run-in and their coach Dean Ryan admitted: "We are playing knock-out rugby and as soon as we lose we are out of it. At the moment we are still alive and very much in it." Irish's head coach, Gary Gold, whose side are stuck in seventh, knew his team would be hit on the rebound, saying: "I thought there would be a backlash from last week and that they would be very physical. We knew what we had to do but we didn't execute it."

Gloucester often gave the impression they were about to break loose outside their play-maker Duncan McRae at fly-half, but it rarely happened in monsoon conditions. Their first-half tries came courtesy of old-fashioned forward grind rather than the dancing feet of Marcel Garvey or James Simpson-Daniel on the wings. In the second minute McRae poked through a grubber kick and Henry Paul scooped up a kind bounce to touch down. Then, just before the break, the hooker, Chris Fortey, was driven over by most of his pack after Alex Brown's line-out catch to give Gloucester an 18-13 lead.

London Irish had fewer chances but came away with something when Michael Horak stepped out of Andy Gomarsall's tackle and dived into the corner for a try. Everitt converted and then traded penalties with Paul before McRae dropped a goal.

Kicking dominated the opening of the second half, Paul stretching Gloucester's lead to 21-13 while Everitt hit the post. As the rain became torrential so ambition died, until the ninth minute of injury-time when Simpson-Daniel took Riaan van der Bergh's pass 35 metres out and sprinted over for the final try of the match.

Gloucester: Tries Paul, Fortey, Simpson-Daniel. Conversions Paul 2. Penalties Paul 2. Drop goal McRae. London Irish: Try Horak. Conversion Everitt. Penalties Everitt 2.

Gloucester: R van der Bergh; M Garvey, T Fanolua (R Todd 67), H Paul, J Simpson-Daniel; D McRae, A Gomarsall; T Woodman, C Fortey, P Vickery, M Cornwell, A Brown (A Eustace 54), J Boer (capt), A Hazell (P Buxton 47), J Paramore.

London Irish: M Horak; P Sackey, G Appleford, N Mordt (M Mapletoft 67), J Bishop; B Everitt, D Edwards; D Wheatley (A Halsey 74), A Flavin (N Drotske 47), R Hardwick, R Strudwick (capt), B Casey (N Kennedy 77), D Danaher, K Dawson, P Murphy (C Sheasby 67).

Referee: R Maybank (Kent).