The attitude and desire of the Gloucester Rugby players during their 28-19 victory over Munster on Friday night was what pleased head coach George Skivington the most from the club's opening pre-season friendly.
Results in pre-season are generally secondary - although a win over Munster in Ireland is never to be sniffed at, but performances are what really matter, and the Cherry and Whites showed plenty of promising signs from their maiden outing of the summer ahead of the Gallagher Premiership kicking off at home against Wasps on September 11.
A Chris Harris brace alongside tries from Ollie Thorley and Jack Reeves headlined a game in which the Cherry and Whites experimented with two near entirely changed teams either side of the half-time whistle.
Following a very encouraging first-half performance from the visitors, Munster fought back with second-half tries from Calvin Nash, Alex Kendellen and Ruadhan Quinn as the URC side overcame a Gloucester 15 brimming with youth.
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Speaking after the match, Skivington said: "There was lots of good stuff out there tonight.
"I thought the work ethic and willingness to work for each other was definitely there. I think there is lots we can take away from that game. There was plenty of good stuff but plenty of inaccuracies as well as you would expect from a first hit out of the season.
"There were lots of chances for us to test what we have been doing over pre-season and work on over the next few weeks."
Gloucester came steaming out the blocks as an Adam Hastings cross-field kick landed firmly in the hands of Ollie Thorley for an easy score in the corner.
The Cherry and Whites continued their stride, comfortably exercising control of the clash as Chris Harris picked off a Ben Healy pass in the visitor's 22 for a score at the other end.
The Scot doubled his total soon after as he made a gorgeous link-up with midfield partner Mark Atkinson by running a hard line off the England international to overcome a challenging tackle with ease and give the visitors a 21-point lead at the interval.
Graham Rowntree's side took advantage of their near entirely changed visitors, scoring through Calvin Nash in the corner after some silky passing across the back line.
Minutes later Munster kept up the momentum, as Alex Kendellen's drive from short range overwhelmed the Gloucester defence.
George Skivington's men regained their cushion as youngster Jack Reeves scored in the corner following a nifty centre link-up between Giorgi Kveseladze and Billy Twelvetrees.
The Irish side got the last laugh though, with some quick thinking from scrum-half Paddy Patterson proving fruitful as Ruadhan Quinn stormed over for the final try of the game.
The best way to describe the game would be one of two very different halves, with the near-entirely first team Gloucester squashing the hosts in the opening half, before Munster fought back against the more youthful outfit of the second.
Some silky backs play alongside the bread and butter of the driving maul were bright sparks for the Cherry and Whites, so there is much hope for the Gloucester faithful ahead of the Gallagher Premiership season.
Skivington's men will next take on Cardiff at Kingsholm next Friday under the lights, with more opportunity to fine tune the squad ahead of what could be a promising season for Gloucester.
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