England Under 19 outside half Ryan Lamb put in three vital kicks in the space of a minute to help steer Gloucester to their first European final with a last gasp triumph over English rivals Worcester Warriors.

Having helped the home side race into a 15-3 lead in the opening quarter with the first of his three penalties and a conversion of Anthony Allen’s try, Lamb returned to the limelight in the second half as time began to run out for his side.

The Warriors, with skipper Pat Sanderson and outside half Shane Drahm running the show superbly, had recovered from their early slump, when they conceded those first quarter tries to James Simpson-Daniel and Allen, to take the lead on the stroke of half-time. All 17 points came from Sanderson and Drahm, as each player grabbed a try and the England A outside half converted both and kicked a penalty.

Drahm’s 30 metre drop goals two minutes after the re-start extended the lead and his second penalty on 51 minutes pushed the Warriors two scores in front. With their beefy pack dominating the set pieces, and French international centre Thomas Lombard causing problems behind, the visitors looked very capable of going all the way.

But Lamb had other ideas and penalties from him and replacement full back Ludovic Mercier cut the gap to two points with 15 minutes to play. That set-up a thrilling finale as the Warriors tried to hang on to claim their first win over Gloucester, and the home side sought the killer blow to take them to their first European final.

The crucial moments came in the 73 minute when Peter Richards snapped up a turn over ball and fed Lamb just outside the home 22. He launched a towering up and under that Mercier leapt high to regather 30 metre up field.

That was the first of Lamb’s immaculate hat-trick of kicks, but the second was even better. The Gloucester forwards recycled from the ruck set-up by Mercier’s leap and Lamb kicked across field from right to left to land the ball inch perfectly in the hands of wing Mark Foster who raced 10 metres unopposed to score.

Flush with success, Lamb then stroked home the touchline conversion to put Gloucester back in front for the first time in the second half.

That score turned the tide and Lamb’s third penalty a minute from time merely added a flourish to the scoreline