Whoever thought it was a good idea to have a bit of Anglo-Welsh competition before England-Wales at Twickenham probably did not count on the ill-feeling generated by the Lee Byrne affair, the case of the 16th man, arising from the Ospreys-Leicester game last week. Relations are a little un- neighbourly at the moment.

Fortunately for cross-border sensibilities, the opportunity to throw some more petrol on the flames was removed by making this a routine bout of Anglo-Anglo rugby. The Welsh were quarantined behind the border in round three of the LV Cup.

With the prize of a place in the Heineken Cup for an English winner, the LV is no trifling matter for two teams hardly striding towards qualification by the conventional route of the Guinness Premiership. Gloucester may have lost in the first two rounds but they certainly played as if they had a full interest in the tournament.

As did Worcester. In fact, a right ripple of antagonism was introduced by the French, Olivier Sourgens packing down against Olivier Azam and Pierre Capdevielle. Three portly French front rowers did not fully compensate for a full manifestation of Welsh victimization but they did their best.

Worcester dominated possession for half an hour but, as is their wont, could not convert their build-up play into points. They did not even have a single penalty shot at goal.

They eventually scored, through Chris Pennell, a wing who took his half-chance very well and who comes highly recommended by those that chart his progress at Worcester. But by then the game was lost, Gloucester having turned defence into effective attack on several occasions. Nicky Robinson sent out long passes towards Lesley Vainikolo, who mixed the thundering on giant thighs with the hobbling on a dodgy knee, or kept it short, involving Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu.

They scored two tries, by Freddie Burns, inventive and elusive at full-back, and Akapusi Qera, one of the star players in any form or style of the game.

Sam Tuitupou for Worcester was busy and difficult to collar, but Rico Gear was a shadow of his former self. Pennell introduced himself as one to watch, while the New Zealander advertised that this was a pretty miserable day all round for himself and his club.

Still, without any Welshness in the Anglo-Welsh occasion it was always going to be little more than a lull before the storm. The period of quarantine is over. The whole of Wales is heading for Twickenham – everyone bar Lee Byrne.

GLOUCESTER Burns (Tadulala 61); Sharples, Molenaar, Fuimaono-Sapolu, Vainikolo; Robinson (Taylor 67), Lewis (Lawson 73); Thomas (Somerville 57), Azam (Dawidiuk 57), Capdevielle (Knight 68), Bortolami (Eustace 61), Brown, Buxton, Qera (Hazell 67), Delve (capt)

Tries: Burns, Qera Cons Robinson 2 Pen Robinson.

WORCESTER Latham; Pennell, Rasmussen (Grove 62), Tuitupou, Gear; Walker (M Jones 56), Arr (Powell 67); Black, Lutui (Fortey 57), Sourgens (Taumoepeau 56), Rawlinson, Gillies (Kitchener 67), Cracknell, Sanderson (capt), Horstmann

Try: Pennell.

Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images.