The European Challenge Cup is a means to an end for Gloucester. Victory over Stade Français at Murrayfield on Friday night would earn a trophy for a club that had another underwhelming campaign in the Premiership, but the prize they are after is a place in next season’s Champions Cup.
Finishing ninth in the league means Gloucester have to beat Stade Français to secure a place in the play‑offs for the final spot in next season’s Champions Cup. Defeat would provide Northampton, who finished seventh, with the opportunity. One of the mysteries of the revamped European competitions is why the winners of the Challenge Cup do not qualify automatically for the main tournament.
“I think the format does need to be looked at because it is a bit odd to win the final and then get two more games at the end of a long season,” said Gloucester’s England wing Jonny May. “Northampton won’t have been sure what to do with themselves this week, waiting to see if we win or lose. It’s a bit strange.”
Gloucester are in Edinburgh this week having beaten the local side in the final two years ago only to miss out on the Champions Cup with a last-minute defeat to Bordeaux-Bègles in the play-offs. Letting leads slip has been a theme of their season, starting on the opening night when a 31-7 advantage over Leicester was not enough to secure victory, and they have won as many games in Europe as they have in the Premiership, seven.
“It is frustrating when you put in so much and keep getting the same result,” May said. “You just have to pick yourself up and work hard. What is the chemical that we are missing? If we knew, we would get it because we are desperate for it. We are a good group of guys who play some great stuff, but time after time we are not where we want to be.”
Gloucester have been typically inconsistent, beating Wasps and Saracens, drawing at Exeter and reaching the final by last month becoming the first team to win at La Rochelle this season, but they were doubled by Newcastle and won only two league matches on the road, at relegated Bristol and 10th-placed Sale.
“This season has been similar to the last two, but one difference is that we have been very competitive in each game whereas in the past we might not have rocked up for one or two,” May said. “There are games that we should not have lost, but winning is a habit that we have not got yet. We can beat anybody on our day and what makes this week exciting is that we can get something out of the campaign.”
Stade Français were at the wrong end of the Top 14 before the proposed merger with Paris neighbours Racing 92 prompted a revival. The players went on strike but after the match at Castres was postponed, and subsequently forfeited, went on a four-match winning run in the league and defeated Bath in the Challenge Cup semi-final. Having finished seventh, they will be in the Champions Cup play-off win or lose.
“They are a good side with dangerous players who can put width on the ball,” May said. “They will be up for it but if we just tweak a few things from last weekend’s game against Exeter [when another lead evaporated] we know we can put on a good performance. We have to repeat the grit and determination we showed in La Rochelle, make sure we cut out the soft moments and take our chances.”
May has finished a season that started late for him because of injury with a flourish, scoring seven tries in as many matches having lost his place in the England team towards the end of the Six Nations and missing out on the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.
“It has been a mixed bag for me,” he said. “I came back from a pretty nasty injury, went straight into the autumn Tests and managed to do pretty well considering I’d been out for basically a year, but for whatever reason I didn’t get going in the Six Nations. It wasn’t necessarily anything I did wrong but in the games I played I failed to make an impact and other wingers did well.
“At that level you need to be at your best every game because it is so competitive. I learned a lot. I’ve come back here, worked hard and I feel I have got better. I did not expect to be picked by the Lions because other wingers played better than me and I am just pleased to be going to Argentina with England. I want to get back in the team and show what I can do.”
With this in mind, May talked with Eddie Jones, England’s head coach. “Eddie and I both agreed that you have to find ways as a winger to get into the game. I basically stood there scratching my head for 50 minutes against Italy and then Jack [Nowell] came on and scored a couple of tries. Eddie has been on my back a lot since the Six Nations, picking holes in my game to make me better and I hope I’m responding in the right way.”
May has been considering going on a backpacking tour in the close season with his England colleague Ben Te’o, with North Korea among the countries they were considering visiting. “I had a letter a few weeks ago from the North Korean embassy with a confidential stamp on it,” he said. “Ben had one as well and they want me to visit the embassy and take a tour. My mum is petrified and tells me I need to respond. It is parked at the moment because there is so much going on over there. I don’t think I will be going to North Korea.”
