The raw pace and power of Gloucester centre Chris Yates and hooker Azam were too much for a possession-starved Llanelli to cope with at Stradey Park.

Towering centre Yates supplied the vital Gloucester breakthrough on 63 minutes.

He split the Llanelli defence with a searing break from halfway, set up the ruck and then the ball was slipped inside for replacement flanker Andrew Hazell to steam over.

Andy Gomarsall converted.

Simon Mannix injury

Gloucester took a stranglehold on possession in the second period and Llanelli were forced to live off what little they could scrounge.

Gloucester had been hit by an injury to New Zealand fly-half Simon Mannix in the first-half, who suffered a broken arm.

He kicked three penalties before going off and Llanelli's defeat could have been greater had replacement kicker Gomarsall not missed four penalty attempts.

Chris Wyatt grabbed a try near the end after a burst from scrum-half Rupert Moon, but Terry Fanolua's penalty sealed the game for an ecstatic Gloucester.

Llanelli hope

Llanelli winger Mark Jones had given Llanelli hope with a try in first-half injury time.

Llanelli, stung by a try from Jason Little, had battered the Cherry and Whites' line before Dafydd James released Jones to cross with an angled run.

The dust had barely settled on Australian centre Little's score.

He sliced through the Llanelli defence to score the game's opening try after 37 minutes.

Showing the ball to Llanelli outside-half Stephen Jones, he left the Wales international for dead before shrugging off the covering Matt Cardey.

Stephen Jones had slotted a penalty for Llanelli in response to Mannix's three kicks, before Little powered over.

But their inability to retain the ball cost the Scarlets dear and Gloucester's powerful support play was too much for them to handle.

Scorers

Llanelli: Tries: M Jones, Wyatt. Cons: S Jones 2. Pens: S Jones 2.

Gloucester: Tries: Little, Hazell. Cons: Gomarsall. Pens: Fanolua 2, Mannix 3.

Teams

Gloucester: C Catling, T Fanolua, J Little, C Yates, T Beim, S Mannix, A Gomarsall, S Simon, O Azam, P Vickery, A Eustace, I Jones, S Ojomoh, K Jones (capt), J Paramore
Replacements: E Moncreiff, F Schisano, Powles, S Sanchez, R Fidler, A Hazell, J Boer

Llanelli: M Cardey, M Jones, D James, S Finau, G Evans, S Jones, G Easterby, P Booth, R McBryde, J Davies, C Wyatt, C Gilles, D Jones, S Quinnell, I Boobyer
Replacements: M Madden, M Thomas, V Cooper, M Buckingham, R Moon, N Boobyer, A Lawson

Ref: G Morandini (Italy)