By the time the Heineken Cup semi-finals eventually come around in late April, few will waste time recalling precisely how Gloucester earned their ticket. The tournament is so protracted that women unaware they were pregnant on the opening weekend will attend the final clutching their midwives' phone numbers.
It will be another nine days before Gloucester learn whom they will play and where, the draw for the semi-finals bizarrely scheduled for 6.40 p.m. in Dublin on Wednesday week.
What can be said is that, aside from Stade Francais, no team left in the competition have a more powerful, destructive front five than the Cherry and White wrecking crew who demolished Cardiff's European dream on Saturday.
At Kingsholm they revere their gnarled old forward heroes like no others but Mike Burton, John Fidler and Mike Teague, who presented the current team with their jerseys before kick-off, may finally have to move aside. In Trevor Woodman, Olivier Azam and Phil Vickery, Gloucester can now boast a top front row in every sense, not merely because of the initial letters of their christian names, and it is starting to show.
Injuries and Test calls mean the trio have barely played in harness, but here Woodman stacked up an almost limitless number of psychological points against the Welsh captain Dai Young before this weekend's England-Wales showdown.
If Woodman's stock rose appreciably in front of the watching England manager Clive Woodward, the past few days have also provided sweet justification for Philippe Saint-Andre, Gloucester's coach. There may still be distrust among certain elements of the club but, tactically, the former French captain worked Cardiff out a treat, giving Peter Muller no room to create anything at inside-centre and opting to play to his own side's undoubted strengths. "It was very difficult for Cardiff to play as they didn't have the ball. For 7075 minutes we were in control of the game. Some people think we play old-fashioned rugby but scrums are still very important."
Saint-Andre is the first to admit his side currently lack confidence and zip outside, but Gloucester wobbled only briefly, notably when Simon Mannix risked a shedload more flak from his local detractors by missing three relatively easy firsthalf kicks. He slotted six others, however, and on the day Gloucester's failure to cross the try-line proved irrelevant.
One weaving 50-metre burst by the full back Chris Catling was almost the sum total of their backline threat, although a pudding of a pitch didn't help.
Cardiff scored the game's only tries through the wings Nick Walne and Gareth Thomas, but the likes of Neil Jenkins and Rob Howley cannot possibly fare as poorly at the Millennium stadium. If they do, England will win with something to spare.
Gloucester: Catling; Ewens (Yates, 79min), Fanolua, Little, Beim; Mannix (Hayward, 65), Moncrieff (Gomarsall, 65); Woodman, Azam (Fortey, 75), Vickery (Deacon, 76), Fidler, I Jones, Boer, K Jones (capt), Paramore (Hazell, 70).
Cardiff: R Williams; N Walne, Robinson, Muller, Thomas; Jenkins, Howley; John, Humphreys, Young (capt; Rogers, 62), C Quinnell, Tait, O Williams (Kacala, 59), M Williams, Lewis.
Referee: J Jutge (France).
