A losing bonus point away at Leicester is always deemed a good result when you scan through the fixtures at the start of the season.
But Gloucester will feel they had the chances to beat the Tigers, despite being under the cosh for much of the second half.
Taking your chances is always crucial in a game of rugby, but that is amplified at Welford Road where the opportunities can be scarce, particularly in Friday night's conditions.
Instead Gloucester butchered their one clear opening – with a forward pass from Henry Purdy to Mark Atkinson – and with it lost a great chance to seize the momentum in the game.
There was plenty to be positive about.
The Gloucester pack were in the ascendency for a decent chunk of the game – which is a significant achievement given recent history.
Trevor Woodman seems to be having an ever increasing influence on the forward eight.
The World Cup-winner may not have had an immediate impact when he came in last season, but gradually Gloucester's forward fortunes have turned around and I'm sure Woodman is delighted with what he is seeing.
James Hook seems to be coming into his own off the kicking tee. In difficult conditions he had an excellent day which meant Gloucester didn't really miss the influence of Grieg Laidlaw from scrum-half.
I go back to the kick Hook landed against Saracens. It really seems to have given him a boost with his kicking confidence.
Dan Robson is on a par with Laidlaw in terms of scrum-half play and it's a great shame he will leave for Wasps at the end of the season. If Hook had clicked into gear of the tee a bit earlier there could have been more starts going Robson's way.
Of course it was another former Gloucester player with mixed fortunes off the kicking tee who did the business for Leicester.
Freddie Burns had one season of knocking them over regularly for the Cherry and Whites, but has never found the required consistency since then.
We saw the best and worst of Burns on Friday, conceding the turnover which result in the missed chance for Atkinson.
Overall not a bad day for Gloucester. But it could have been so much better.
I would say 47-17 is pretty much a par score for England against Italy.
Jonathan Joseph scored two excellent tries, but you have to put it into perspective that it was at home against the weakest team in the Six Nations.
I need to see this England backline fire against the best teams before they can be declared anything near World Cup contenders.
Wales was a great start, but there was really nothing particularly wonderful or poor about the Italy game so you have to reserve judgement.
I have to say that George Ford is growing on me as a fly-half.
When he was first picked I thought it was the wrong decision, but he has looked assured of late and a real contender for Owen Farrell. I actually think it's Ford's shirt at the moment, regardless of Farrell's fitness.
You have to spare a thought for Ben Morgan while these Six Nations games are happening.
You get a sense the England pack is becoming settled which makes it very difficult to see someone like Morgan coming back in for the World Cup after so long out.
Billy Vunipola still hasn't shone, but he has looked better that he did in November and doesn't really have a challenger for the shirt at the moment.
I can't bring myself to call London Welsh at home 'a potential banana skin' because I think it would be an outright disaster if Gloucester were to lose this one.
Welsh are bottom, they've lost all their games and have one bonus point to show for their whole season.
There's no way they can be allowed to leave Kingsholm with even a stolen toilet roll from the men's toilet.
That said, Gloucester need to approach the game professionally and with a plan.
Often the Cherry and Whites can be guilty of not building their way into a game like this.
The aim should be to keep it tight early, get a lead in the game and only then start thinking about try bonus points.
If you start too loose you can get picked off and the longer an opponent stays in the game, no matter who they are, the more confident they become.
I fully expect Gloucester to do the business on Saturday afternoon at 3pm (for a change). But every games takes some winning at this level.
