Balshaw (left) and Brown (right) were both among the try-scorers

Harlequins (17) 30
Try: Jones, Brown, Robson
Pens: Jarvis (3)
Cons: Jarvis, Malone

Gloucester (20) 25
Try: Adams, Balshaw, Allen, Simpson-Daniel
Pens: Walker
Cons: Walker

George Robson's late try gave Harlequins victory over league leaders Gloucester at the Twickenham Stoop.

Tries by Jake Adams, Iain Balshaw and Anthony Allen gave Gloucester the edge at half-time, with Ceri Jones and Mike Brown going over for the home side.

After the restart James Simpson-Daniel scored in the corner but poor kicking by Willie Walker kept Quins in touch.

Adrian Jarvis closed the gap to two points and Quins' persistence was rewarded when Robson dived over.

Harlequins enjoyed the best of the early possession, with Hal Luscombe going close, only to be denied by a superbly timed Leslie Vainikolo tackle just five yards short of the line.

When the first score came it was for the visitors, as Adams charged down Jarvis's attempted cross-field kick to Ugo Monye, and ran the length of the field to score.

Quins made amends straight from the kick-off, as Monye was first to the ball and when he was grounded just short of the line, the forwards followed up and Jones scored a scruffy pushover try.

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Every time the ball went near Vainikolo the visitors looked threatening, and it was no surprise when he was involved in their next scoring move, but it was Peter Buxton who provided the vital touches to set up Balshaw.

Buxton began the move, passing to Vainikolo who tore clear up the left wing, only to be hauled down 10 yards short of the line.

He had the presence of mind to off-load to Buxton, whose instant pass found Balshaw and set him up to score their second try.

A burst of speed by Simpson-Daniel then put Allen over for Gloucester's third, but Danny Care pulled the visiting defence open, allowing Brown to score with the final play of the first half.

The teams struggled to match the tempo of the first half when the game restarted, but after 10 minutes a burst of pace from Simpson-Daniel stretched Gloucester's lead.

Walker's kicking had been unreliable all day, however, and when he missed the conversion, that gave Quins fresh hope and they responded with a period of sustained pressure.

With 10 minutes to go a Jarvis penalty closed the gap to five points and Quins' sustained pressure earned its reward when Robson dived over to score.

"It's a great result in terms of setting our stall out playing against the best in England.

"Gloucester play a great brand of rugby but we persevered right through to the end. It was a difficult time in November and December but we had a break and took a few things back to basics.

"I have a great team here - not only on the pitch but the support team as well and the coaches never lost their confidence in the players."

"There were lots of opportunities were we should have won the game and we didn't. You can't blame the kicker.

"Our game management wasn't really good enough and we got pulled into a fragmented game which we didn't want.

"We had more control and more opportunities but we lost a little but of clarity about what it is we are trying to do."

Harlequins: Brown, Williams, Luscombe, Masson, Monye, Jarvis, Care, Jones, Fuga, Ross, Percival, Spanghero, Robshaw, Skinner, Easter. Replacements: Brooker, Brooks, Robson, Hala'ufia, Gomarsall, Malone, Barry.

Gloucester: Balshaw, Simpson-Daniel, Adams, Allen, Vainikolo, Walker, Lawson, Wood, Azam, Nieto, Buxton, Brown, Strokosch, Qera, Narraway. Replacements: Titterrell, Dickinson, Bortolami, Delve, Cooper, Paterson, Foster.

Referee: Sean Davey (RFU)