Biarritz were left fuming by Scottish referee Peter Allen's performance as they suffered an opening 22-10 Heineken Cup defeat against Gloucester.

England international Olly Barkley punished the French club's indiscretions, kicking four penalties to give Gloucester a flying start in Pool Six.

But Biarritz coach John Isaac said: ``I thought we deserved at least a point from the game. It [the refereeing] was very one-sided. There were things that were blown against us that weren't blown against them. Having said that, our discipline was very poor - and there are a few things we need to look at.''

Isaac ruled out the possibility of any official complaint against Allen, asking: ``What's the point? I don't think it is something we will be looking to do. It was a bit of a mystery for us coming here tonight, not knowing how the game was going to be refereed.

``I don't think there was a lot of explanation on the field tonight.''

Barkley, meanwhile, kicked Gloucester to a vital victory at Kingsholm - but there was little to suggest the west country club will mount a major challenge for Cup honours this season.

Barkley landed four penalties and a conversion of James Simpson-Daniel's 39th-minute try, on his Gloucester European debut. But Biarritz exposed enough chinks in Gloucester's armour to suggest Pool Six could go to the wire, especially after Cardiff Blues' demolition of Italian hosts Calvisano earlier today.

Gloucester did enough - but nothing more - to keep Biarritz at bay.

A poor game, punctuated by Allen's fussy officiating, never remotely threatened to move through the gears. Gloucester boss Dean Ryan knows there is a lot of work to be done before next Sunday's Millennium Stadium appointment with Cardiff.

Biarritz, despite a Jean-Baptiste Gobelet try and Julien Peyrelongue drop-goal and conversion, had to content themselves with a nil return in terms of points.

But they will head home safe in the knowledge their qualifying pool has a long way to run. Ryan said: ``I am really pleased with the result - it was a big step for us. It is an even bigger game for us now against Cardiff next week.''