Newport Gwent Dragons 23 Gloucester 32

The Heineken Cup game between Newport Gwent Dragons and Gloucester at Rodney Parade, Newport, on Sunday Jan 24.

Should Gloucester go on to earn themselves a European gong this season, they will remember well their 40 minutes at Newport in late January.

Trailing 16-10 to the Dragons in this pulsating Heineken Cup contest at Rodney Parade, the Cherry and Whites revived their season with a victory that earned Bryan Redpath's side a place in the quarter-final of the Amlin Challenge Cup.

Admittedly, a slot in the knockout stage of European rugby's second tier is not what they might have hoped for at the outset. However, considering they were all but down and out in this competition two weeks ago, they should be grateful for small mercies.

Furthermore, with the challenge cup providing the winners with a place in next season's Heineken Cup, Gloucester's season is far from over.

Redpath said: "It's great news that we are in a European quarter-final and obviously I am delighted with that. I was pretty frustrated with our first-half performance because we lacked energy and forgot what we had spoken about in midweek.

"Thankfully, we were a lot more dynamic in the second half and that was pleasing. To get into the last eight of any competition is a real boost at this stage of the season."

For much of the first half, the visitors looked anything but a side capable of prolonging their European journey. They were strangely pedestrian and failed to break down a Dragons' side for whom any hopes of European success this season had disappeared long before Christmas.

Two penalties and a drop goal from James Arlidge, and a converted try from centre Rhodri Gomer-Davies while Gloucester were down to 14 men courtesy of a yellow card for Dave Attwood, gifted the hosts an interval lead.

Unfortunately, it was very much the storm before the calm and after Akapusi Qera had crossed for the first of his three tries, Gloucester took total control.

Clearly smarting from an interval lecture from Redpath, they seized on a catalogue of errors by the Dragons and with Olivier Azam entering the fray on the hour, they helped themselves to the all important bonus point.

Qera crossed for his second of the day from a driving line out deep inside the Dragons 22 and the Fijian openside completed his hat-trick in the 65th minute as Gloucester capitalised on a Dragons' midfield that was by now chasing shadows.

Nicky Robinson's penalty, shortly after the Dragons had lost replacement Ben Castle to the sin-bin, made the game safe and though Ashley Smith celebrated his return from long-term injury with a try in stoppage time, by then, Gloucester were celebrating a victory that might, come the end of the season, be their most important of the season.