Freddie Clark scored another memorable try in Europe, intercepting Albornoz's pass. Photo: PA/Joe Giddens Gloucester 40 Benetton 23
Gloucester edged past Benetton to reach the Challenge Cup final thanks to Zach Mercer's inspiration, the control of the midfielders and Freddie Clarke's powerful interception from the second row.
With the pair of pies short of 18 stone, a steward will now launch an investigation into whether it officially qualifies as a “big man's try”. What was not in doubt was Clarke's anticipation and ability to catch Tomas Albornoz's pass in the air. With 50 meters to go, Clarke had to shake his legs furiously to overtake the bunker before finishing off the scoring with a superbly inelegant swan dive. The Shed took advantage of this.
FLYING FREDDIE ✈️
Freddie Clark makes a sensational interception to extend @gloucesterrugby's lead!# GLOVEBEN | #ChallengeCupRugby pic.twitter.com/F7htbvOSue
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) May 4, 2024
“I saw an opportunity to go out and luckily it fell into my lap,” Clarke said. “I looked over my shoulder left and right, but there was no one next to me. Don't ask me about the dive, I didn't really leave the floor. When I was growing up, I collected a lot of these in my garden.”
At 32-16, the score put what had been a tight game out of Treviso's reach, largely justifying director of rugby George Skivington's decision to rotate his side for the final two Premier League matches. Skivington suffered a lot for the decision, which resulted in heavy defeats to Saracens and Exeter, but having won the Premiership Rugby Cup earlier this season, Gloucester are now on course for a second-tier double. They travel to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 24 to face the Sharks, who play in South Africa six days ago.
“At the start of the season there are three trophies you can compete for, but the reality of achieving all three is difficult, if not impossible,” Skivington said. “After being bold at the start of the year, we decided to go for the cups. Because the club hasn't had much silverware for many years and we want to bring silverware to Gloucester. From our point of view, this will be large-scale. I'm very proud of this group for persevering and sticking to the plan no matter what and thinking they can put themselves in the right position.
“From my point of view, if you get halfway through year and get one trophy, almost gone, then you'll go after the others. We have a little quibble, but that doesn't mean we fired Prem, but there were ulterior motives in the way we played and selected people. To do this you need to be brave.”
Mercer won another man of the match award thanks to his quick feet and octopus-like ability to free his arm to escape a tackle. Gloucester's best move of the match – Clarke's Doomsday try – saw Mercer change his point of attack twice with offloads, which ultimately led to midfielder Adam Hastings scoring from a corner. Hastings finished with 17 points from the boot, while Caolan Englefield's strikes inside the box were also key to the victory.
England outcast Zach Mercer (centre) was named man of the match after an impressive performance despite picking up a yellow card. Photo: Getty Images/Bob Bradford
The loud bangs coming from Treviso's coach's box indicated the disappointment they felt at losing the game out of their hands. Their clash dominated the first half and Gloucester appeared to be on the brink when substitute hooker Gianmarco Lucchesi was cleared from the maul in the 54th minute. The conversion would have brought Treviso level, but instead tries from Hastings and Clarke two minutes before the hour mark gave Gloucester breathing space.
Too often Benetton have been their own worst enemies. The first half saw Lewis Ludlow win his 22, leading to in-form Josh Hathaway scoring from Chris Harris. Tomas Albornoz kicked two penalties, both from Gloucester scrum infringements, and one from Hastings, who also converted for a superb 50-22. From this outfield position, hooker Seb Blake was run out after trying to put Gloucester up 15-6.
However, Gloucester ended the first half in the red when Mercer made a somewhat blundering trip. and as the clock wound down, defender Rhyno Smith scored with a flowing Benetton move that featured significant contributions from outstanding number 8 Toa Halafihi. Benetton took a complete lead early in the second half, but a few moments of indecision cost them dearly.
Lucchesi scored the second try in almost identical fashion from the maul, but Ollie Thorley made sure they had the last word. after the flank flew in front of Hastings and struck forward. Celebrations in Kingsholm were loud. When your fans are as hungry as Gloucester's fans, then there is no such thing as second-tier silver.
Match Details
Gloucester: Jay Hathaway; J May, C Harris, S Atkinson, O Thorley (E Herl 79); A Hastings (C Atkinson 79), C Englefield (S Varney 70); M. Vivas (J. Ford-Robinson, 45), S. Blake (S. Sochino, 45), K. Gotovtsev (K. Knight, 63), F. Clark, F. Thomas (A. Tuisu, 62), R. Ackermann (J. Clement, 68), L. Ludlow (c), Z. Mercer.
Benetton: R. Smith; I Mendy, T Menoncello, N Brex, O Ratave; T. Albornoz (L. Marin, 68), A. Garbizi (A. Uren, 49); T. Gallo (M. Spagnuolo, 60), G. Nicotera (G. Lucchesi, 45), S. Ferrari (G. Zilocchi, 52), S. Crafton (N. Cannone, 41), E. Sneyman (E. Yazzi, 60), S. Negri (A. Izekor, 49), M. Lamaro, T. Halafihi.
Attendance: 11,426
Referee: N. Amashukeli (Georgia)
Sequence of goals: 5:0, Hathaway try; 5-3 handle Albornoz; 8-3 Hastings Handle; 8-6 Albornoz handle; 13-6, Blake try; 15-6 Hastings con; 15-11, Smith try; 18–11, Hastings pen; 18-16, Lucchesi try; 23-16, Hastings try; 25-16, Hastings; 30-16 try by Clarke; 32-16, Hastings; 32-21, Lucchesi try; 32-23, Albornoz con; 35–23, Englefield pen; 40-23 Thorley try
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