Gloucester and Exeter through to Premiership 7s finals

Steph Reynolds’ blistering performance at Kingsholm last night propelled Gloucester back to the Premiership 7s finals.
The Cherry and Whites will be joined at The Stoop by Exeter next week where they will take on the Dragons and the Scarlets as well as four more teams to be decided tonight and tomorrow at the Ricoh Arena and Kingston Park.
Reynolds was named Man of the Round and skippered the hosts on the night, turning in a series of performances to remember with two tries in the opening match with Exeter setting the tone for the evening.
The hosts, who are the reigning Premiership 7s champions, got the evening off to an emphatic start as they comfortably dispatched Chiefs by 36-5.
Lloyd Evans got things going for the Cherry and Whites after two minutes before Mark Atkinson crossed.
Exeter got themselves on the board after six minutes but that was as good as it got as Gloucester skipper Reynolds crossed just before the break and then added another with a blistering break in the second period.
However, Bath weren’t to be outdone and showed that they were going to be a force to be reckoned with as they dispatched London Irish 26-0 in the evening’s second match.
Captain Adam Hastings ran in the first try for Bath before Darren Atkins got the first of two – the second a cheeky kick through the middle – and Alex O’Meara wrapped things up with a minute to go.
But the quick turnaround didn’t do Bath any favours and Exeter bounced back from their opening defeat in style with a 26-10 triumph.
Alex Ducker opened the scoring for the Chiefs but Bath responded with tries from Shaquille Jack and Apolosi Sokia to take the lead.
But Bath had no response to Exeter after the break and tries from Sam Simmonds, Matt Eliet and Pete Laverick kept their final dream alive.
While Bath were making it hard for themselves Gloucester made no mistake against London Irish as they produced another devastating performance to win 31-7 – Reynolds picking up his third try of the night to open the scoring.
London Irish’s competition came to an end in the penultimate match with Exeter as they struggled to make any impact and the Cheifs stormed to a 43-0 win.
Laverick’s double was the highlight for Chiefs, his first a breakaway through the middle of a confused Irish defence.
That left Bath’s chances hanging by a thread against the hosts and they got off to a nightmare start as Dan Thomas broke through the middle to give the home side the advantage.
Bath hit back with 12 seconds left in the first period to level things but the hosts were in sensational second-half form and three tries put the final nail in Bath’s coffin.
Results
Exeter 5 Gloucester 36
Bath 26 London Irish 0
Bath 10 Exeter 26
Gloucester 31 London Irish 7
Exeter 43 London Irish 0
Gloucester 24 Bath 7