Gilmore says Harlequins need time to bed in new systems after Gloucester defeat

Harlequins head coach Jason Gilmore says the club's difficult start reflects a summer of change, while insisting the performance in their 48-0 loss to Gloucester was not acceptable. In an interview with BBC Radio London reported by BBC Sport on Thursday, he urged his squad to continue working through the transition.

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Gilmore said new attacking and line-out systems would take four to six weeks to settle, with returning internationals still learning the changes. He was appointed permanently in March after an interim spell. The coaching overhaul also brought in performance director Robbie Deans, forwards coach Rob Hunter and attack coach Brad Cooper.

Quins sit bottom after losing their opening two league games. Gilmore told the BBC he had addressed the squad's failures directly but did not want one result to provoke an overreaction. Harlequins finished ninth last season, their lowest placing in eight years.

The scale of Saturday's defeat at Kingsholm was underlined by eight Gloucester tries and four George Barton conversions, according to PA's match report published by RugbyPass. Harlequins were without Marcus Smith and Alex Dombrandt and suffered their heaviest league loss since 2000. Ben Loader, Jac Morgan, Will Trenholm and Charlie Atkinson were among the home side's scorers.

In his immediate post-match comments reported by PA, Gilmore identified discipline as a major problem, citing a penalty count of 21-5 against his team. He said repeated infringements left Harlequins short of possession and allowed Gloucester to establish attacking positions. Two tries conceded in the opening four minutes of the second half then undermined hopes of a recovery.

Gloucester coach George Skivington praised his players for preventing Harlequins from scoring, while acknowledging areas his own team could improve. PA reported that he highlighted work on defensive line speed and the effort to protect the try-line late in the match. The victory followed Gloucester's 45-24 win at Exeter, leaving Harlequins' new systems exposed by a side that had already opened its campaign with an emphatic away result.