Full-time: Leicester 24 Gloucester 10. Leaders Gloucester are still looking for an away win in 2009 after an indisciplined display at Leicester in the Guinness Premiership.

London official Wayne Barnes, originally from Bream, sent two Cherry and Whites players to the sin bin, while Leicester scrum-half Julien Dupuy landed seven penalties from the total 18 conceded by the visitors.

The visitors, defended well not to concede a try, but let a 10-3 lead slip away and their fourth straight defeat on the road could have been worse had Dupuy hit three long-range penalties just after the break.

The visitors were indebted to Iain Balshaw's tackle on Tom Croft five metres short of the line after the England back-rower looked to have beaten the covering defence on 51 minutes.

Rory Lawson committed another try-saving tackle three minutes later when fly-half Sam Vesty was brought down inches away from the line.

But the Gloucester forwards were over-eager at the next ruck, conceded a penalty right in front of their own posts and Dupuy this time made no mistake.

It was all hands to the pumps on the hour for Gloucester – replacement Martin Castrogiovanni should have passed with an overlap outside him instead of going for glory but the visitors deserve credit for keeping out Leicester.

And, after winning back possession, the visitors nearly added a breakaway try when the Tigers had to track back hard after wing Charlie Sharples had collected Barkley's clearance kick.

Gloucester had a second player yellow-carded on 66 minutes after lock Alex Brown tackled Geordan Murphy early when the Tigers were pressing. Dupuy hit the resulting penalty to extend the hosts' lead to 18-10.

To rub salt in to Gloucester's wounds, Murphy made sure of the spoils with a drop goal from the halfway line in injury time before Dupuy added another penalty on the final whistle.