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Gloucester Rugby clinched their place in the quarter-finals with Saturday's match at home against Mont de Marsan to spare - but still will want to finish as high as possible among the four ranked teams who will have home advantage in April's quarter-finals. - 17/01/2013 19:45
Gloucester Rugby clinched their place in the quarter-finals with Saturday’s match at home against Mont de Marsan to spare – but still will want to finish as high as possible among the four ranked teams who will have home advantage in April’s quarter-finals.
The group was always likely to be all about the matches between London Irish and Gloucester Rugby – and the Exiles lost both contests.
London Irish failed to make home advantage count in Round 3, going down 29-22 at the Madejski Stadium, and that handed all the momentum to Gloucester who then romped to a 47-3 home win over their Premiership rivals.
Nigel Davies’ team have proved they can fight on two fronts but will be wary of a French team who ran them close before they won 11-6 in their Round 1 meeting with left wing Ian Clark getting the only try of the match.
Match Facts
- Freddie Burns (67) is the leading points scorer after the opening five rounds of the Amlin Challenge Cup.
- Mont-de-Marsan’s victory over Bordeaux-Bègles at the start of December ended a run of six consecutive away defeats in this competition.
- Gloucester’s 11 points in their victory over the French side in Round 1 was the fewest they had managed in an Amlin Challenge Cup game since 1996.
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Gloucester have a 70% win rate against French clubs in this competition, their worst rate of any nationality they have faced.
Face au leader de la poule déjà qualifié
A brace apiece for Jonny May and Henry Trinder sent Gloucester on their way to their sixth consecutive victory in the Amlin Challenge Cup.
Gloucester, who won the tournament back in 2006, rounded off their pool campaign with a 36-16 victory at home to Mont de Marsan.
They were made to work for the victory, though, and battled through a tough first forty minutes before cutting lose in the second period.
Freddie Burns and opposite number Jean Baptiste Claverie exchanged early penalties at Kingsholm before wing May popped up with the game’s first try on his return from injury on nine minutes.
Burns missed the extras and was then forced from the field injured.
Claverie added two penalties in quick succession for the visitors to edge them in front before Billy Twelvetrees responded with three points of his own for the West Country side.
Charlie Sharples grabbed the hosts’ second score but each time Gloucester tried to edge in front they were quickly drawn back in by Mont de Marsan and Yann Brethous crossed for a converted try to level the scores before the break.
Twelvetrees’ second penalty after 50 minutes pushed Gloucester in front once more.
Trinder then grabbed his brace in quick succession, importantly securing Gloucester the try-scoring bonus point.
May rounded off the victory with a try late on and Gloucester march into the last eight unbeaten in the pool stages.
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