European Challenge Cup final: Gloucester and Stade Francais aim to end tumultuous seasons on a high
The Cheery and Whites saw former head coach Laurie Fisher leave the club, but that's nothing in comparison to Stade's near-miss wwith a Racing 92 merge deal
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Your support makes all the difference.Gloucester will need to record their first ever victory over Stade Francais if they are to end a tumultuous season on a high and lift the European Challenge Cup in this weekend’s Murrayfield double-header.
All eyes will be on Saturday’s mouth-watering Champions Cup final clash between Saracens and Clermont Auvergne, but the first Anglo-French collision of the weekend takes place in Friday and sees Gloucester scrapping not just for silverware at the end of what has been another disappointing season, but also a place in next season’s Champions Cup.
Should the Cherry and Whites prevail on Friday – just two months after former head coach Laurie Fisher resigned – they will replace Northampton Saints in the Champions Cup play-offs and face a two-leg affair against Connacht, with the winner facing either Stade or Cardiff Blues in two weeks’ time.
With so much riding on just one game, the danger for both teams is that they will crack under pressure when it matters most, though luckily for the Aviva Premiership side, they have a head coach who knows a thing or two about remaining calm at moments of such importance.
David Humpreys’ drop-goal in the final match of the 2005/06 Pro12 season secured Ulster victory against the Ospreys and as a result, won the league. However, he won’t be drawing on any of his own experiences when he addresses his team in the minutes before they emerge in Edinburgh because, he believes, the game is big enough in itself.
"With a cup final, there's not a huge amount of motivation required, everybody knows how important this game is for the club,” Humphreys said. “Everybody knows that, while we've got to win this weekend, we've also the opportunity still to get Gloucester back into the Champions Cup.
"First and foremost, though, it's been about getting ready to face the challenge that Stade Francais will bring and the quality of player that they have.
"Because it's a cup final, I do believe that, especially in this competition, that every time we've had to, we've lifted our performance. We've responded to defeats, to injuries and this week will be no different.
Humphreys has made six changes to his side following last weekend’s Premiership-ending defeat by Gloucester, with both fly-half Billy Burns and full-back Tom Marshall back from injury. Despite being called up to the British and Irish Lions squad to replace Ben Youngs, Greig Laidlaw is dropped to the bench as Willi Heinz is preferred in what could be his final appearance for the club ahead of his summer move to Clermont, while in the pack another Lions member is given the nod in Ross Moriarty, who starts at blindside flanker.
The other two changes come in Josh Hohnech’s return at loosehead prop and Jeremy Thrush’s inclusion in the second-row, with both Paddy McAllister and Mariano Galarza dropping to the replacements’ bench.
Stade meanwhile are in a somewhat similar, albeit much more serious position than Gloucester. Just two months ago they were facing a club merger with fellow Parisians Racing 92, only for the move to be scrapped last month. That plunged Stade’s future in major doubt, but a resurgence of sorts up the Top 14 table has at least booked their place in the Challenge Cup play-offs, and they can end the most tumultuous season in their history with a trophy to their name if they can see off Gloucester.
Semi-final hero Jules Plisson, whose last-minute drop-goal saw off Bath 28-25, starts at fly-half alongside Australia international scrum-half Will Genia, while this year’s back-three revelation Djibril Camara is named on the wing, with Italy captain Sergio Parisse skippering the side from No 8.
Teams
Gloucester: Tom Marshall; Charlie Sharples, Matt Scott, Mark Atkinson, Jonny May; Billy Burns, Willi Heinz (c); Josh Hohneck, Richard Hibbard, John Afoa, Tom Savage, Jeremy Thrush, Ross Moriarty, Lewis Ludlow, Ben Morgan
Replacements: Darren Dawidiuk, Yann Thomas, Paddy McAllister, Mariano Galarza, Freddie Clarke, Greig Laidlaw, Billy Twelvetrees, Henry Trinder
Stade Français: Hugo Bonneval; Waisea Vuidarvuwalu, Geoffrey Doumayrou, Jonathan Danty, Djibril Camara; Jules Plisson, Will Genia; Heinke Van der Merwe, Remi Bonfils, Rabah Slimani, Hugh Pyle, Paul Gabrillagues, Antoine Burban, Jonathan Ross, Sergio Parisse (c)
Replacements: Laurent Panis, Zurabi Zhvania, Paul Alo Emile, Willem Alberts, Raphael Lakafia, Julien Dupuy, Morné Steyn, Jérémy Sinzelle
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