Gloucester book final berth with battling win

billytwelvetrees - CROPPED

Gloucester will face Edinburgh in the European Rugby Challenge Cup final after battling to a 30-19 victory over Exeter Chiefs at Kingsholm.

Fading league form has left Gloucester relying on Challenge Cup glory to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions Cup.

And the home side rarely looked in danger of falling short on Saturday, pulling away every time Exeter threatened to reel them in.

A frantic opening five minutes saw both sides apply the pressure, but it was not until the 18th minute that Gloucester scrum-half Greig Laidlaw kicked the first points of the match.

However, the hosts conceded a penalty from the restart, opening the door for Henry Slade to restore parity from the tee with a fantastic long-range effort.

The first major breakthrough came when Billy Meakes latched onto a James Hook grubber on the half-hour mark, getting the better of two defending Chiefs to bundle over.

A quick trip to the television match official (TMO) revealed no wrongdoing and Laidlaw added the extras.

Kai Horstmann was not so lucky, though, as his touchdown at the other end, which would have provided the perfect response, was ruled out for a forward pass.

Hook then extended Gloucester's lead to 10 from just inside his own half, before Slade split the posts on the stroke of half-time.

Exeter continued to plug away after the interval, with Slade pulling the visitors to within a point thanks to two penalties either side of a missed Laidlaw attempt.

But Gloucester's cushion was re-established when Tom Savage forced his way over from close range after 67 minutes.

Laidlaw was successful with the conversion and added another penalty to leave Exeter chasing an 11-point deficit with nine minutes left on the clock.

Elvis Taione's try, along with Gareth Steenson's conversion, gave the visitors cause for optimism, but Jonny May dashed any lingering hopes when he intercepted to race clear for the line two minutes from time, cementing his side's place in the Twickenham Stoop final on May 1.

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