Rugby: Forward power the key for Gloucester

Gloucester’s rampant forwards have been backed to cause more Heineken Cup mayhem after they roughed up Cardiff and sent them tumbling out of Europe.

While the shattered Welsh club began counting bruises to body and soul, tournament debutants Gloucester were still celebrating yesterday’s victory based entirely on brute strength and clinical set-piece technique.

As Cardiff coach Lynn Howells picked himself up off the canvas, he warned Gloucester’s semi-final opponents the draw will be made on Wednesday week that they must be braced for a similar pummelling.

‘‘Gloucester are going to trouble any of the remaining teams in this competition,’’ Howells said, following a defeat far more emphatic than the 21-15 scoreline suggests.

‘‘They’ve got a tremendous scrum and a great line-out forward in Ian Jones, which means they can cause anyone problems.’’

Young England prop Trevor Woodman led the forward onslaught, twisting and turning his illustrious opposite number Wales and British Lions tighthead David Young to such an extent that Cardiff’s scrum resembled a crumpled heap well before half-time.

Watching England boss Clive Woodward, who left Woodman out of his 30-man Six Nations squad, must surely reconsider that decision as the two-month competition unfolds.

‘‘Trevor is one of the best props I’ve ever played with,’’ claimed Gloucester captain Kingsley Jones.

‘‘How he’s not in the England squad is beyond me.’’

Samoan number eight Junior Paramore was another Gloucester hero, defying family heartache and the effects of a 26-hour flight to orchestrate Cardiff’s demise.

Paramore arrived back from the South Seas only last Tuesday following his brother-in-law Quentin’s sudden death.

But he was on the training field barely three hours after touching down at Heathrow, underlining his dedication towards Gloucester’s European campaign a cup run that has now gathered momentum akin to what Northampton enjoyed last season.

Paramore’s blown kiss to the heavens when Jones led his heroes back out after the final whistle said it all.

Although Cardiff scored the only tries wings Nick Walne and Gareth Thomas touching down Gloucester’s relentless forward supremacy gave goal-kicker Simon Mannix nine penalty chances.

He accepted six of those opportunities before going off injured, leaving his replacement Byron Hayward to administer the final penalty blow.

‘‘We’ve got one of the best packs, along with Leicester, in this competition,’’ enthused Gloucester coach Philippe Saint-Andre.

‘‘A lot of people didn’t give us the credit we deserved for getting this far, and I sensed that only people within the club believed we could do it.

‘‘Everyone outside of Kingsholm said that Cardiff would win this game easily, and our lack of recognition spurred us on.’’

Cardiff, having gone out at the same quarter-final stage in Europe last season, offered no excuses.

‘‘We couldn’t get our ball-carriers through the first line of defence,’’ said Cardiff captain Young.

‘‘Gloucester stopped us in the tackle, and we had no tempo to our game as a result,’’ he added, confirming that a third-minute shoulder injury will not rule him out of Wales’ Six Nations opener against England in Cardiff next Saturday.

Howells, whose contract expires at the end of this season, now faces an anxious wait before discovering if he will be offered another one by millionaire club chairman Peter Thomas.

‘‘Right from the start of the season, we made no secret that Europe was our target and to go out again in the quarter-final is very disappointing,’’ said Howells.

‘‘I would have expected something better this year, but now is the wrong time to place any blame. We have to go away and look at things.

‘‘Our discipline was very poor you simply cannot give away that many penalties.’’

French champions and Heineken Cup favourites Stade Francais joined Gloucester in the last four with a 36-19 success against Pau, fly-half Diego Dominguez kicking 21 points.

Two French clubs are also through to the European Shield semi-finals after Agen beat Beziers 31-0 and Narbonne defeated Perpignan 34-24.