For long periods this wasn't interesting enough to be a stinker. It was just so run of the mill, so much a routine victory by the leaders over the strugglers that it barely amounted to a good siesta spoilt. It was dull, the skills were mediocre and the entertainment value zero.
And then Olivier Azam, bless his tetchy Frenchness, loitered and shoved and nudged and barged at a ruck, found himself in the bin and everyone woke up with a start. All sorts of things started to happen. It may not be Twickenhamly correct to say that a bad boy made a game, but Olivier should be given a bonus for his contribution on the hour.
For the record, until then the following had happened: London Irish nearly scored a try with their first attack of the game and after pinching a Gloucester line-out, but Paul Sackey could not quite reach Barry Everitt's diagonal kick before it bounced out of play; then Gloucester scored a driving try from a line-out they did catch; then another at the start of the second half. And there were a few penalties. But, Gawd, it was stodge, a real hangover after the England glitter.
And then Azam, who had been his normal robust, iconic self, overdid the iconics and was off. Everitt, impeccable with his place-kicking but so prone to kicking the ball out of hand as well that he may go down with repetitive punting syndrome, slotted the three points.
Gloucester restarted and were awarded a penalty of their own immediately after Michael Horak was caught, which kept the lead at 15 points. Another restart. The ball was not claimed and suddenly Ryan Strudwick was putting Sackey over in the corner. Everitt converted. I don't think Olivier had completed his trudge to the dug-out.
When he returned, Gloucester were still only five points clear. But the hooker was soon in the heart of a massive drive from the forwards. It ate up the yards and was only stopped when James Cockle came in from the side to prevent the try. Not that he did, for a penalty try was awarded.
That should have been that, but no sooner had Marcel Garvey come on as a replacement and set off an electrifying run down the Shed - or as near to it as he could - than Gloucester lost a scrum against the head and Sackey was in a one-on-one against Henry Paul on the other side of the field.
Now, Henry had had one of his weirder days. No, he had a bad one, full stop. And it was just his luck that when he showed Sackey the outside route and invited him to take it, the wing said thank you very much and promptly did. Everitt converted and the Irish had a losing bonus point, which may be as valuable as the bonus Gloucester may - or more probably may not - offer Azam for his services.
The Irish look too... 'good' might be pushing it. They look too intense to be in trouble. But so do a lot of teams in the lower half of the table. Gloucester seem to be on course for top spot in the Zurich premiership, but since that only gives them a certain advantage when it comes to the championship that follows, the real drama may be the dog-fight at the bottom.
Intensity will count for a lot down there. At least it will mean - unless they change the relegation rules at the last moment again, which is always an option - that we shall be kept on the edge of our seats somewhere. Or at least prevented from dropping off. You can't rely on the French to get themselves sent to the sin bin in the name of thrills every week
Gloucester: Paul; Delport, Fanolua, Todd, Beim (Garvey 77); Mercier, Gomarsall; Roncero, Azam, Deacon, Fidler, Eustace, Boer (capt; Buxton 32), Forrester, Paramore.
Tries: Boer, Paramore, penalty. Cons: Mercier (2). Pens: Mercier (2)
London Irish: Horak; Sackey, Burrows, Venter, Bishop; Everitt, Edwards; Worsley (Hatley 49), Drotske, Halford (Hardwick 58), Strudwick (capt), Kennedy (Delaney 73), Gustard (Cockle 32), Danaher, Sheasby.
London Irish Tries: Sackey (2). Cons: Everitt (2). Pens: Everitt (2).
Attendance: 10,217
Referee: R Goodliffe (Yorkshire).
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