Rarely in a Gallagher Premiership game do you witness a contest where the gulf in intensity and desire is the key decisive difference between the sides, but Harlequins were unable to live with a rabid Gloucester side who were frothing at the mouths for 80 minutes throughout their 14-0 win at Kingsholm.

Harlequins, one of the great flamboyant attacking brands of English rugby looked ready to put their feet up for Christmas and they got punished for being off the pace. The West Londoner haven't been nilled for a decade and yet they never looked liked crossing the Cherry and Whites try line.

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After scoring two tries through Josh Hathaway and Jack Clement in an impressive first-half performance, the home side's often maligned defence this season delivered to achieve the rare feat of keeping the normally potent Quins scoreless. Santiago Carreras added both conversions in the first half.

Val Rapava-Ruskin was a late withdrawal with a knee injury but his side overcame that setback to take an 11th-minute lead. After withstanding a sustained opening assault, Gloucester broke out and from their first real attack, a long pass from Gareth Anscombe provided his fellow Wales international Hathaway with a walk-in.

That score was the catalyst for the hosts to take control. Their pack dominated at the breakdown and were equally on top in the scrum and as a result looked set to increase their advantage when Rapava-Ruskin’s replacement Ciaran Knight tore through the defence before chipping ahead, but the Quins cover just got back in time.

However the respite was only temporary as Gloucester soon won another a scrum penalty, with rising star Fasogbon causing damage against Fin Baxter, and from the resulting line-out, their opponents were scattered everywhere as Clement powered over.

The home side suffered a blow when their Fasogbon limped off with an apparent ankle injury but they were still able to keep Quins at bay to lead 14-0 at half-time.

The Londoners needed the first score after the interval to remain in contention but could not penetrate a resolute home defence, who were able to successfully defend two five-metre line-outs and then tackle fiercely when the ball was moved wide.

Quins were not helped by uncustomary poor handling and full-back Tyrone Green looked the only one capable of breaking down Gloucester’s defensive red wall. The visitors took off England flanker Chandler Cunningham-South together with two other forwards in an attempt to reverse their fortunes but it paid no immediate dividends as an error-ridden third quarter finished scoreless.

In fact it was Gloucester who should really have extended their lead with Hathaway handed a golden chance to record a brace after Tomos Williams put a sumptuous cross-field kick into his path, but the winger failed to take the catch cleanly. Wade then failed to use numbers out wide following a smart break from Williams and Freddie Thomas, as the Welsh core of the side shone, and the winger was held up. Upon review the Cherry and Whites will scratch their heads how they didn't earn the four-try attacking bonus point.

With 15 minutes remaining, Carreras had a chance to make it a three-score game but his 40-metre penalty rebounded back off a post. It mattered little as Quins continued their fumbling right up until the end.

Gloucester Rugby: 15. Santi Carreras, 14. Christian Wade, 13. Max Llewellyn, 12. Seb Atkinson, 11. Josh Hathaway, 10. Gareth Anscombe, 9. Tomos Williams, 1.Ciaran Knight, 2. Seb Blake, 3. Afolabi Fasogbon, 4. Freddie Thomas, 5. Matias Alemanno, 6. Jack Clement, 7. Lewis Ludlow (c), 8. Ruan Ackermann

Replacements: 16. Jack Singleton, 17.Mayco Vivas, 18. Kirill Gotovtsev, 19. Cam Jordan, 20. Albert Tuisue, 21. Caolan Englefield, 22. Chris Harris, 23. George Barton

Harlequins: 15. Tyrone Green, 14. Rodrigo Isgro, 13. Oscar Beard, 12. Lennox Anyanwu, 11. Cadan Murley, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Will Porter, 1. Fin Baxter, 2. Jack Walker, 3. Simon Kerrod, 4. Dino Lamb, 5. George Hammond, 6. Chandler Cunningham-South, 7. Will Evans, 8. Alex Dombrandt (c)

Replacements: 16. Sam Riley, 17. Wyn Jones, 18. Dillon Lewis, 19. Irne Herbst, 20. James Chisholm, 21. Danny Care, 22. Jarrod Evans, 23. Nick David

Referee: Christophe Ridley

Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce and Andrew Jackson

TMO: Stuart Terheege