you Can Quote Me On That!

'It was a fantastic game from our point of view,' said Gloucester head coach Nigel Melville. 'We are very pleased to win it.

'Credit to London Irish - they are a very good side and they came at us in the first half.

'They have a lot of power and pace and when they got penalties the scoreboard started going against us.

'The penalty try didn't help matters but what we had in the second half was team spirit and belief.

'Even when we had 14 men on the field they still fought and stuck together to the end.'

Melville's opposite number Conor O'Shea said: 'It is hard to believe it was a 40-19 defeat.

'They were the better side but at one point it was anyone's game.'

Melville's side has been in fine form this season winning both their Heineken Cup matches. The Cherry and Whites beat Munster 35-16 in their opening game and thrashed Viadana 80-28 in a 12 try haul in Round 2.

Bristol Shoguns head coach Peter Thorburn was in thoughtful mood after their 38-10 win over Parker Pen Challenge Cup side Newcastle Falcons:

'I thought our scrum was extremely good in the first half,' he said.

'We still have a long way to go but we are improving. It would be crass to say I was disappointed with the second half because we desperately needed the win.'

Sale Sharks have endured a woeful start to their Heineken Cup campaign losing both of their opening games to Bourgoin and Glasgow Rugby, and form in the Zurich Premiership has been inconsistent.

'This was a massive opportunity for us to win away from home, but we played badly, particularly in the second half,' said Sharks coach Jim Mallinder.

'I don't think that we can have too many complaints about this one.'

Dean Richards after Leicester Tigers 16-3 win over Northampton Saints:

'This was a huge game for us. Considering the players we had missing it was a great win.'

Leinster star Brian O'Driscoll captained Ireland to a 18-9 victory over Australia:

'This is a great result for us. We have been the nearly men for a while and had come close against South Africa two years ago and New Zealand in the summer. The players in the dressing room are just elated.

'Now we have finally beaten one of the big nations will give us a huge boost in confidence. But this mustn't be a one-off, we have got to start doing it regularly now.

The Lions was different,' said O'Driscoll, who starred in the first Test victory over Australia two years ago.

'It is not as special as playing for your country which is the be-all and end-all of international rugby for me.'

Edinburgh winger Chris Paterson following Scotland's victory over Romania:

'They are very strong, physical guys and they played very well in all aspects of trying to stop us playing.

'We have only been together since last Monday afternoon and some things came off and some things didn't.

'But that is why it is there. We should have a really hard workout in order to prepare ourselves for a big test next week.

'Every game at this level is a test and that was proven today but we will work hard and look forward to the coming games.'