Preview: Premiership, Round 22
But nobody at Kingsholm has given up hope ahead of this weekend's clash with Northampton Saints.
Gloucester must claim a try-bonus point win on Saturday and hope that Sale Sharks finish up empty-handed from their visit to Newcastle Falcons.
And they must also cheer on Harlequins in the Challenge Cup Final against Montpellier – which will free up another Champions Cup spot.
The Cherry and Whites have won their last two Premiership Rugby matches, at home to Exeter Chiefs and away at Sale Sharks, but have not won three in succession in the tournament since October 2012.
Gloucester's only defeat in their last five Premiership rugby fixtures at Kingsholm was to Bath in Round 18 and injured Cherry and Whites' wing Jonny May remains optimistic from the sidelines.
"We would all be lying if we didn't say it was disappointing, I think we definitely targeted top six and to retain the Challenge Cup," said the injured May.
"Six weeks ago we were doing really well, but for whatever reason we have had a drop off.
"We bounced back with a great win against Exeter and we have got a couple of games to finish strongly.
"We're not good enough yet but we know it and we are going to work extremely hard over the pre-season to come back and do better next season but we will keep working hard until the final whistle has gone this weekend."
Northampton Saints require a victory to guarantee Champions Cup rugby next season, less if other results go their way.
The Saints ended a three-game losing run in all tournaments with their 15-14 win at home to Bath last weekend.
However, Jim Mallinder's men will need to produce a performance this weekend, with the Saints only win away from homes since early February a trip to Saracens on March 5.
Northampton are unbeaten in their last four Premiership fixtures against Gloucester since the Cherry & Whites' 26-24 win at Kingsholm in September 2013, while the Saints have won just once at Gloucester since 2009.
"Gloucester won't be a push over especially at home and we want to finish on a high," said England and Northampton flank Tom Wood.
"We said we wanted to do that last week in our last home game because we wanted to give the fans something to smile about and we need to secure that top flight European rugby slot for next year and anything other than that would be a disaster.
"We are very motivated to get the job done but it will be a tough ask because Gloucester have just hit some form at the wrong time for us but we are always confident we can win on the day."
We take a look at all the Round 22 action!
Saturday:
Bath v Leicester Tigers
(Recreation Ground – Kick-off: 15.30; 14.30 GMT)
Leicester Tigers have already ensured a 12th successive participation in the semifinals, and have won their last three Premiership encounters since their reversal at Sale in Round 18.
The last four encounters between the two clubs have been won by the home side on the day, whilst the Tigers most recent victory at Recreation Ground in the Premiership came in March 2011.
Teams:
Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 George Ford, 9 Will Homer, 8 David Denton, 7 Francois Louw (captain), 6 Matt Garvey, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Charlie Ewels, 3 David Wilson, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Nathan Catt.
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Max Lahiff, 18 Kane Palma-Newport, 19 Dom Day, 20 Leroy Houston, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Jeff Williams.
Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Peter Betham, 12 Jack Roberts, 11 George Catchpole, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Will Evans, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 Ed Slater (captain), 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Logovi'i Mulipola, 18 Greg Bateman, 19 Dom Barrow, 20 Laurence Pearce, 21 Jono Kitto, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 George Worth.
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Peter Allan, Roger Baileff
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Gloucester v Northampton Saints
(Kingsholm – Kick-off: 15.30; 14.30 GMT)
Northampton Saints require a victory to guarantee Champions Cup rugby next season, less if other results go their way. The Saints ended a three-game losing run in all tournaments with their 15-14 win at home to Bath on Saturday.
Saints only win away from homes since early February was on a trip to Saracens on March 5. Northampton are unbeaten in their last four Premiership fixtures against Gloucester since the Cherry & Whites' 26-24 win at Kingsholm in September 2013. The Saints have won just once at Gloucester's citadel since 2009.
Teams:
Gloucester: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Ollie Thorley, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Elliott Creed, 10 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 9 Willi Heinz, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Tom Savage, 3 John Afoa, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Yann Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Darren Dawidiuk, 17 Nick Wood, 18 Paul Doran-Jones, 19 Gareth Evans, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Lloyd Evans, 23 Jacob Rowan.
Northampton Saints: 15 Harry Mallinder, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson (captain), 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Campese Ma’afu, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Victor Matfield, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Kahn Fotuali’i, 22 Sam Olver, 23 James Wilson.
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Andrew Small, Andrew Pearce
TMO: Geoffrey Warren
Harlequins v Exeter Chiefs
(Twickenham Stoop – Kick-off: 15.30; 14.30 GMT)
Harlequins require a bonus point victory to guarantee their place in the Champions Cup next season, although they could also qualify if they win the Challenge Cup next week.
Exeter Chiefs need a win to ensure that their first appearance in a Premiership semifinal will be at Sandy Park. Exeter have won their last three fixtures against Harlequins and have been victorious on their last two visits to Twickenham Stoop.
Teams:
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Winston Stanley, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Ross Chisholm, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care (captain), 8 Nick Easter, 7 Jack Clifford, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 Charlie Matthews, 4 George Merrick, 3 Will Collier, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Mark Lambert.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Owen Evans, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Sam Twomey, 20 Mat Luamanu, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Joe Marchant.
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Sam Hill, 11 James Short, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Jack Yeandle (captain), 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Carl Rimmer, 19 Geoff Parling, 20 Kai Horstmann, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Ian Whitten, 23 Olly Woodburn.
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Paul Burton, Nigel Carrick
TMO: Sean Davey
Newcastle Falcons v Sale Sharks
(Kingston Park – Kick-off: 15.30; 14.30 GMT)
A victory could see Sale Sharks finish as high as fifth in the league table providing Northampton and Harlequins lose. The Sharks only win in their last four first team matches was 29-17 at home to Bath in Round 20 of the Premiership.
Sale are unbeaten in their last four Premiership encounters with the Falcons since Newcastle's 15-14 victory at AJ Bell Stadium in September 2013.
Teams:
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Alex Tait, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Marcus Watson, 10 Mike Delany, 9 Michael Young, 8 Nili Latu (captain), 7 Dan Temm, 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Will Witty, 4 Calum Green, 3 Mike Cusack, 2 Rob Hawkins, 1 Rob Vickers.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alex Rogers, 18 Taione Vea, 19 Kane Thompson, 20 Richard Mayhew, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Craig Willis, 23 Belisario Agulla.
Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Will Addison, 13 Sam James, 12 Johnny Leota, 11 Nev Edwards, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 TJ Ioane 7 David Seymour (captain), 6 Cameron Neild, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Neil Briggs, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Jonathan Mills, 20 Mark Easter, 21 James Mitchell, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Mark Jennings.
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Tim Wigglesworth, John Meredith
TMO: Graham Hughes
Wasps v London Irish
(Ricoh Arena – Kick-off: 15.30; 14.30 GMT)
A Wasps victory would see them looking out for the Exeter result to check if their efforts could be rewarded with a home semifinal for the first time since 2008.
London Irish's only victory in the last ten rounds of the Premiership was 23-18 at home to Gloucester on 20th March. The Exiles are the only side in Premiership Rugby this season to have lost all ten away games so far.
Wasps are unbeaten in their last three Premiership fixtures against London Irish and recorded a try bonus on each occasion. The Exiles have won only once on Wasps soil since 2006: 23-20 at Adams Park in February 2014.
Teams:
Wasps: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Siale Piutau, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Thomas Young, 6 James Haskell (captain), 5 Bradley Davies, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Ashley Johnson, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Edd Shervington, 17 Tom Bristow, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Will Rowlands, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Rob Miller.
London Irish: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 10 Theo Brophy Clews, 9 Brendan McKibbin, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Joe Trayfoot, 6 Luke Narraway (captain), 5 Matt Symons, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Ben Franks, 2 David Paice, 1 Johnny Harris.
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Leo Halavatau, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Jebb Sinclair, 20 Rob McCusker, 21 Darren Allinson, 22 Chris Noakes, 23 Ciaran Hearn.
Referee: Thomas Foley
Assistant referees: Greg Garner, Kevin Stewart
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Worcester Warriors v Saracens
(Sixways – Kick-off: 15.30; 14.30 GMT)
Worcester Warriors have slipped to three maximum point Premiership defeats since beating London Irish at Sixways on March 26.
Saracens have already ensured a home semifinal spot and number one seeding in three of the last four years. Saracens are unbeaten since they visited Leicester in the Premiership on March 20.
Saracens have won their last four Premiership encounters with Worcester since Warriors' 12-3 victory at Sixways in November 2012.
Teams:
Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Andy Symons, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Luke Baldwin, 8 Phil Dowson (captain), 7 Carl Kirwan, 6 Sam Betty, 5 Dan Sanderson, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Na'ama Leleimalefaga.
Replacements: 16 Jaba Bregvadze, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 James Johnston, 19 Charlie Hewitt, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 Ryan Lamb, 23 Alex Grove.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Charlie Hodgson (captain), 9 Neil De Kock, 8 Samu Vunisa, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 George Kruis, 3 Petrus Du Plessis, 2 Jamie George, 1 Richard Barrington.
Replacements: 16 Jared Saunders, 17 Titi Lamositele, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Hayden Smith, 20 Will Fraser, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Tim Streather, 23 Ben Ransom.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Andy Watson, Jonathan Healy
TMO: David Sainsbury
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