Gloucester are in danger of finishing in the bottom three of the Premiership this season, but they still have a route into next season’s European Champions Cup.
They face Exeter in the semi-final of the European Challenge Cup at Kingsholm on Saturday night and if the winner of the tournament is a Premiership club that has not already qualified for the Champions Cup, which the Chiefs are highly likely to do, they will go into the end-of-season play-off for the final place in next season’s competition.
Gloucester have won only seven of their 19 Premiership matches with a home record of 50%, but they have a 100% record in the Challenge Cup despite being in a group that included two French clubs. Exeter, though, have won on their last two league visits to Kingsholm and have triumphed there in three matches in five after being promoted to the top flight.
“You only had to be with us at training this week to appreciate that everyone understands what this match means to the club,” said the Gloucester director of rugby, David Humphreys. “We are very excited about it and the players have put in a huge amount of work this season without getting the reward we had hoped for.
“We have talked about how a number of our good performances this season have been at home against the top teams in England [victories over Saracens and Leicester, and a draw against Northampton] and Exeter fall into that bracket. History has shown that home advantage is a big part of success in Europe but we know the challenge that faces us.”
Exeter are bidding for a place in the play-offs and moved into fourth in the Premiership last Sunday by beating Northampton at Sandy Park. Gloucester won the Challenge Cup in 2006, but Exeter have not reached a European final and they are the form side having lost one of their last nine matches in the league and Europe.
“We say at the start of every year that the key for us is to keep every competition alive for us long as possible,” said the Chiefs’ head coach, Rob Baxter. “Being in the semi-final of the Challenge Cup and the top four of the league is making it an exciting season for us.
“When we had a blip earlier in the season, we got a bit fretful about where we were in the league and did not look like a team that was excited about playing Premiership matches. We have addressed that and now we are playing some top quality rugby. I’ve said to the guys whatever happens this season, we are not going to get afraid of losing.
“I think being afraid of what is going to be taken off you can be a very negative thing. A packed out Kingsholm with the conditions they are now means it will be a fantastic place to go and play. We have put in some big performances away from home this season and we have to show we are not afraid to play. It is an opportunity we have to make the most of.”
Both sides are close to full strength, with the Argentina second-row Mariano Galarza making his first start for the home side.
“We are potentially two games away from a Champions Cup play-off and that is where we want to be as a group,” said the Gloucester captain, Billy Twelvetrees. “As a club, we are heading in the right direction and it is about being smart in matches, reacting better and dealing with shifts in momentum. It has been an inconsistent season, but Europe has given us a focus and if we give it our all against Exeter, we will get the result.”
