Exiles boss frustrated as lead squandered

London Irish boss Gary Gold blamed his side’s careless errors after they threw away a 10-point lead and sacrificed a precious Zurich Premiership win over Gloucester at Kingsholm.

The head coach was left ruing the 23-16 defeat but it had looked very different in the first half when they led 10-0 following a Geoff Appleford try and a Barry Everitt penalty.

But the tables turned when Gloucester clawed their way back into the reckoning with tries from Oliver Azam and Jake Boer.

“I’m disappointed that at the start of the season our error rate is so high,” said Gold. “To get ourselves into a 10-0 lead and then let them score two tries from our own errors is so frustrating.

“We handed them 10 points and points are precious in this league. It is hard enough to get points on your own, let alone give them away.

“I don’t mind coming to Kingsholm and losing to a better team, but what I do mind is coming here and losing through our own mistakes. The guys know my feeling and they have acknowledged them.”

Gold’s opposite number at Gloucester, Nigel Melville, also conceded his team’s victory was far from a comprehensive win.

He added: “I don’t like to concede so many points early in a game as we did against London Irish. I put it down to early season things really. I was satisfied with the last try, scored by Andy Hazell, and when we got forward we generally looked dangerous. There is still a lot to work on.”