The 2006 Amlin Challenge Cup winners will have the chance to regain that trophy when continental competition returns in the spring after they secured maximum points in a 36-18 success in the south of France.

Gloucester ran in five tries in all to finish the pool stages on 14 points, leapfrogging Pool 2 runners up Cardiff Blues in the process courtesy of their better trying scoring record across all six fixtures.

A quarter-final spot seemed a distant dream after back-to-back home defeats to Edinburgh and Munster but Gloucester left their best performance til last to revive a disappointing season to date.

Shane Monahan scored twice for the visitors, with Jonny May, Charlie Sharples and Ben Morgan also touching down and Freddie Burns kicking 11 points through four conversions and a drop goal as he missed just once from the tee.

May set Gloucester on their way when he sliced through from fully 80 metres with 13 minutes gone. The 23-year-old left four defenders in his wake after picking up Sione Piukala’s dropped pass just inside the Gloucester 22, with the Perpignan cover grasping at thin air thanks to May’s pace and balance.

Burns pushed the conversion attempt across the face of the posts but Gloucester were 5-3 up after Tom Ecochard’s fourth-minute penalty had opened the scoring for the hosts.

Perpignan were celebrating a try of their own after 18 minutes, though, when Piukala powered through after David Marty’s well-timed pop left May flat footed.

Ecohord’s conversion from 10 metres to the right of the posts left Gloucester with a 10-5 deficit at the end of the first quarter but they were back in front by the half hour.

The pack went close with a series of carries wide on the right before Burns, May and Rob Cook put Monahan over on the opposite touchline with 28 minutes gone. Burns sent over a superb conversion to push Gloucester 12-10 ahead and things got even better for Nigel Davies and co when Sharples finished off a brilliant breakaway four minutes after Monahan had touched down for his first.

Gloucester pounced when former Wasps forward Dan Leo lost possession in the visitors’ 22, with Burns and Billy Twelvetrees giving No8 Gareth Evans a hint of a gap 15 metres from his own line. Evans showed a stunning turn of pace and great awareness to cut in between two defenders before galloping towards the Perpignan line. He could have stretched for the line himself but instead unselfishly offloaded to Sharples who dotted down despite pressure from Joffrey Michel.

Burns again succeeded with the conversion from wide on the right in between a brace of penalty misses from Ecohord and Gloucester took a 19-10 lead into the interval.

Ecohord narrowed the gap to six points a minute after the restart but Gloucester grabbed the bonus point try when Monahan dived over on the left after Dan Robson’s quick-fire pass from a close-range ruck. Burns added the extras and Gloucester were 13 points up at 26-13 and with the hard work seemingly done.

A Karl Chateau try after good work from Ecohord gave Perpignan hope of a comeback two minutes past the hour but Gloucester never looked like letting things slip in the final quarter. Instead, Burns slotted a drop goal to effectively seal the win with a little over six minutes left and Morgan stretched over from a five-metre scrum for a try converted by Burns at the death after Perpignan prop George Jgenti saw yellow.