Leicester Tigers

Tigers scored four tries, two in each half, to register their first win in this season's Anglo-Welsh competition and their first at Welford Road this season.

Dan Cole and Manu Tuilagi, who were making their first starts for Tigers after returning from Rugby World Cup duty with England, were on the mark in the first period.

And there were tries after the break for hooker Tom Youngs and Horacio Agulla, making their first starts of the season. Fly-half Toby Flood kicked seven from seven and there was also a conversion for George Ford as Tigers went top of Pool B.

In all, Tigers welcomed back nine internationals for their first appearances of the season. Cole and Tuilagi were joined by England World Cup squad members Tom Croft, Thomas Waldrom, Toby Flood and with Louis Deacon on the bench. Argentina duo Marcos Ayerza and Agulla were also back in a team led by skipper Geordan Murphy.

Gloucester included ex-Tiger Jim Hamilton in the second row while Brett Deacon was named on the bench alongside former Academy player Tim Taylor.

Murphy's huge up-and-under was misjudged by Olly Morgan putting Tigers on the front foot from the start. Tigers put on the pressure and when Sam Harrison was prevented from delivering quick ball by a stray Gloucester body, Flood kicked his first points of the season for Leicester from the resulting penalty.

Tigers were pinged at the first scrum of the night but Freddie Burns was wide with his kick on the angle as Leicester led 3-0 after 10 minutes.

However, Tigers had the shove on at the next scrum and were awarded a penalty with the Gloucester eight going backwards. Flood made no mistake with the kick to double Tigers' advantage.

Gloucester scored the game's first try on 19 minutes in bizarre fashion. Flanker Akapusi Qera charged down Flood's attempted clearance and the ball ricocheted towards the Leicester line where it seemed Croft would mop up. However, the ball struck the post and bounced in to the arms of the onrushing Dan Murphy to score under the sticks. Burns' conversion gave Gloucester a 7-6 lead.

The lead was short-lived, however. Tigers had the edge in the scrum and when Gloucester collapsed the set-piece in their 22, Flood knocked over his third penalty to put Tigers back ahead.

And when Burns' restart went out on the full, Tigers advantage in the scrum was underlined with the award of a third successive set-piece penalty. Flood banged his kick over from just inside the Gloucester half to put Tigers 12-7 up after 27 minutes.

Tigers were on top and made it count with their first try of the game and a first in 48 games for Cole. The tighthead charged onto Flood's pass and crashed his way over from 22 yards. Flood's conversion extended the lead to 19-7 nine minutes before the break.

And there was a second try for the Tigers right on half-time. Croft was well tackled by Jonny May on the left but Tigers secured quick ball for Manu Tuilagi to punch through for a first Tigers try of the campaign. Flood maintained his 100 per cent kicking record to put Leicester 26-7 ahead at the break.

There were no changes at half-time and Tigers had their third try shortly after the restart. Manu Tuilagi made an initial break before Flood took play on under the shadow of the posts for hooker Youngs to finish. It was Youngs's third try for Tigers. Flood's extras extended the lead to 33-7.

Gloucester enjoyed a period of possession in Tigers' territory in the third quarter, opting for a lineout platform when presented with a kickable penalty. And it needed smart defence work to prevent a combination of Qera and Lesley Vainikolo breaking through the defence.

Vainikolo did find a way through midway through the half when, under pressure from replacement Scott Hamilton, the centre forced his way over at the left corner. Tigers fans in Welford Road claimed Vainikolo knocked-on in scoring but referee James Jones awarded the try. The conversion was added by Burns to cut Tigers lead to 33-14.

Quick thinking by Thomas Waldrom almost led to a fourth Tigers try. The No8 was stopped just short after tapping a penalty before George Skivington was held up over the line at the next phase. Tigers were unable to make the resulting scrum pay as the penalty was awarded to the visitors.

But there was still time for Tigers to score their bonus-point try. It owed much to the work of Manu Tuilagi, blasting a hole in midfield, before finding Agulla racing up on his inside for a clear run to the line.

Replacement fly-half George Ford's conversion set the seal on a first home victory of the season for the Tigers.