The final fixture of the EPCR Challenge Cup takes place on Friday night, with Gloucester and the Sharks both desperate to put a shine on their season after disappointing domestic campaigns.
Both sides have dominated the competition throughout, qualifying as top seeds in their respective groups before the Sharks survived a scare against Clermont in the semi-finals, eventually winning 32-31 behind Siya Masuku’s masterful performance, while Gloucester thumped Benetton 40-23 to make the final.
It now sets up a clash that doesn’t only mean European glory for the winner, but an automatic Champions Cup berth as both sides failed to qualify for Europe’s premier competition in their domestic leagues.
Gloucester
The Cherry and Whites are making their record fifth appearance in a Challenge Cup final and hoping to dispel the demons of their lacklustre Premiership efforts by following up their early-season Premiership Rugby Cup glory with another piece of silverware.
The headline selection news for George Skivington’s side is that Argentinian international Santiago Carreras has recovered from his appendix operation to start at fullback. It will be the Los Pumas star’s first appearance since Gloucester’s quarter-final win over the Ospreys in early April.
Fan favourite Jonny May joins Carreras in the back three in what will be his final ever game for the club as the former England international is moving on after 12 seasons across two stints at Kingsholm.
Ever-reliable flanker Lewis Ludlow captains the XV from openside, with Ruan Ackermann on the other side looking to provide some brute force against a monstrous pack of his fellow South Africans.Β
Between them, Zach Mercer, the club’s player of the year, will look to cause damage from the No.8 position and impress Steve Borthwick one final time before England’s summer tour selection.
The trio of Jamal Ford-Robinson, Fraser Balmain and Seb Blake will have their work cut out for them in the front row, while Freddie Clarke and Arthur Clark form the lock pairing behind them.Β
Caolan Englefield and Adam Hastings start as the halfback pairing, with the centre partnership made up of Chris Harris and Seb Atkinson.
Hollywoodbets Sharks
With external doubts about the benefits of having South African sides in European cup competitions, the Sharks will be out to prove a point. Neil Powell’s side hold the chance to become the first South African side to win a European competition and have named a powerful, Springbok-laced squad for the contest.
Powell has the luxury of selecting a near-identical side to the one that defeated Clermont Auvergne in a dramatic semi-final, with the only change being Francois Venter replacing the injured Lukhanyo Am, who suffered a shoulder injury and broken rib against Benetton two weeks ago.
Two-time World Cup winner Eben Etzebeth leads the side in behind an all-international front row of Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Vincent Koch.
Gerbrandt Grobler partners Etzebeth in the second row with James Venter, Vincent Tshituka and Phepsi Buthelezi making up an exciting back row.
The electric Aphelele Fassi is at full-back, with Werner Kok and Makazole Mapimpi on each wing. Siya Masuku starts at fly-half, hoping to finish his breakout season in style and replicate his semi-final performance against Clermont Auvergne, where he kicked 22 points from the tee. Grant Williams partners him at scrum-half.
The EPCR Challenge Cup final kicks-off at 20:00 BST at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with streaming via TNT Sports.
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