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The invading raiders of the south have plundered their first silverware. It never felt like it was likely to be long until a South Africa side got their mitts on one of Europe’s most precious prizes – they may not yet be Champions Cup challengers but the Sharks will take the Challenge Cup spoils back over the equator in just their second season since arriving on this stage. A late Gloucester surge left the final margin closer than it should have been but this was a final that their opponents controlled.

The Premiership side were dismantled by the brawn of a World Cup-winning front row and the boot of Sharks fly-half Siya Masuku; this may be the more minor of the continent’s two prizes yet it mattered little to the smiling South Africans as captain Eben Etzebeth hoisted the trophy aloft at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Gloucester had arrived in search of salvation after a sorry season. It has been a horrid campaign for George Skivington and his men, reduced to also-ran status in the Premiership before the New Year was seen in and finishing only above Newcastle in the end.



A domestic cup win meant that they would have silverware of some sort to perch on the shelves in the Shed, but victory here was a must to give the supporters reason to smile. Their fans travelled in good number, stripes of red and white an unusual sight in this particular postcode but on the backs of most of the 34,761 crowd as Gloucester sought a third Challenge Cup crown. The English club spent most .

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