Aviva Premiership: Harlequins triumph over Gloucester at Kingsholm

Harlequins defeated Gloucester 22-15 at Kingsholm - but the major talking point of the match came about with the appearance of a substitute with seven minutes to go.

Wales hooker Richard Hibbard is set to be caught in a club versus country row after he came on in the closing stages of the Aviva Premiership match, a move that will no doubt infuriate his national coach, Warren Gatland.

Hibbard had been left out of Wales' squad for the match against Fiji in Cardiff on Saturday due to an ankle injury, yet was able to appear for his club side on Friday night.

His late cameo wasn't enough to prevent the Cherry and Whites slipping to defeat, with Quins scoring tries through number eight Nick Easter, flanker Luke Wallace and wing Charlie Walker.

Fly-half Nick Evans added two conversions as well as a penalty, with Gloucester's points coming via four penalties from Billy Twelvetrees and a three-pointer from replacement Aled Thomas.

While Gatland will be seething England boss Stuart Lancaster will be pleased at the performance from Twelvetrees, who played fly-half following Wales' decision to call up James Hook during the week.

Fine form

Having been released from the national squad, Twelvetrees was in fine form around the pitch and booted four out of six first-half penalties, one from just inside his own half to put Gloucester into a 12-0 lead.

And it could have been more as Quins, with six regulars away on international duty, struggled to get out of the starting blocks for half an hour. A desperate tackle from centre George Lowe just denied full-back Rob Cook a try after he was put in by winger Henry Purdy.

Quins, however, eventually woke up. Winger Charlie Walker went close before an attacking line-out five metres from the line resulted in a rolling maul driving skipper Easter over the line.

Evans converted and then landed a penalty five minutes from the break to put his team right back in the match. In contrast, Twelvetrees lost his accuracy in the second half as he failed with two long-range penalties, letting the visitors off the hook.

They made him pay when the rolling maul tactic again reaped dividends, flanker Wallace this time the man to score right in front of the posts, making Evans' second conversion a simple one.

Replacement Thomas landed a fifth Gloucester penalty to claw it back to 17-15 but the victory was sealed when Evans kicked through a gap to send Walker over for the game-clinching try.

The missed conversion didn't prove crucial in the final reckoning, though Gloucester were relieved as it allowed them to pick up a losing bonus point.