With 10 minutes remaining, Nche, Mbonambi and Koch were all taken off. Trevor Nyakane, another World Cup champion who had made the trip from Paris, where he is playing for Racing 92, hollered “Bomb Squad” in recognition of his compatriots.
Adam Hastings and Jonny May, two Gloucester leavers, combined for a Stephen Varney try that was disallowed, encapsulating a hapless night. Skivington’s men did reward their faithful fans with two pieces of futile brilliance. A flurry of offloads led to a finish for Socino and then Thorley broke to set up Freddie Clarke. Still, Sharks prevailed to make the Champions Cup for 2024-25, keeping Leicester Tigers as the Premiership’s eighth qualifier.
Late scores could not gloss over Gloucester’s inferiority. The same was true of their cup success amid a tough season. Work is required over the summer, as Skivington already knew.
Match details:
Gloucester: S Carreras; J May (J Hathaway, 75), C Harris, S Atkinson (M Llewellyn, 56), O Thorley; A Hastings, C Englefield (S Varney, 56); J Ford-Robinson (M Vivas, h-t), S Blake (S Socino, h-t), F Balmain (K Gotovtsev, h-t), F Clarke, A Clark (A Tuisue, 56), R Ackermann (J Clement, 65), L Ludlow, Z Mercer.
Sharks: A Fassi (C Bosch, 76), W Kok, E Hooker, F Venter, M Mapimpi; S Masuku, G Williams (C Wright, 73); O Nche (N Mchunu, 70), B Mbonambi (F Mbatha, 70), V Koch (H Jacobs, 70), E Etzebeth, G Grobler (L Labuschagne, 75), J Venter (D Richardson, 75), V Tshituka, P Buthelezi. Replacement not used: E Keyter. Yellow card: Fassi 7
Scoring: 0-3 Masuku penalty, 3-3 Englefield penalty, 3-8 Buthelezi try, 3-10 Masuku conversion, 3-13 Masuku penalty, 3-16 Masuku penalty, 3-19 Masuku penalty, 3-22 Masuku penalty, 3-27 Fassi try, 3-29 Masuku conversion, 8-29 Tuisue try, 10-29 Hastings conversion, 10-34 Mapimpi try, 10-36 Masuku conversion, 15-36 Socino try, 17-36 Hastings conversion, 22-36 Clarke try.
Referee: M Raynal
Attendance: 34,761
