Gloucester win 80-point thriller

Catling (left): Two tries helped Gloucester fight back

London Irish 40-42 Gloucester

Gloucester snatched victory over London Irish with an injury-time try to close out the season with a classic encounter at the Stoop.

I was aiming for a top-five finish and the fact we managed to finish third makes it all very exciting

Phillipe Saint-Andre, Gloucester's director of rugby

Prop Adrian Powles touched down for the winning points, but Jarrod Cunningham came very close to claiming victory for the Exiles with a penalty from the halfway line that missed by inches.

As the scoreline suggests, it was a massively absorbing spectacle, high on adventure and invention, and a brilliant final note for both side's Allied Dunbar Premiership campaigns.

Bishop bags one

After a quiet start, the match exploded into life with the sin-binning of Gloucester's Andy Deacon for obstruction.

Despite being a man short, a quick tap-penalty gave the visitors the lead when Powles crashed over for his first.

Two schoolboy errors effectively cost us the game

Dick Best, Exiles coach

Irish replied immediately, reclaiming the lead when Mike Worsley barrelled over from short range.

The scoreline was levelled when Chris Catling split the Exiles' defence and flew over untouched.

The ding-dong nature of the match was confirmed as Justin Bishop broke through to feed Michael Horak and restore the home side's lead.

Bishop bagged one for himself just before the interval following some good vision from the Irish half-backs who spread the ball wide and sent him in unopposed.

Three-try flurry

Penalties for both sides set the scores at 25-13 to the Exiles at half-time, but two tries in as many minutes after the restart brought Gloucester right back into it.

Rob Jewell finished off a beautiful flowing movement for the first, then Catling again restored parity after some fine slight of hand by Terry Fanolua.

It was not over yet. London Irish rallied and worked their way back into the Gloucester half, where Rob Hoadley scored his first try for the club.

Cunningham kicked a penalty to restore an eight-point lead for the home side, then Bishop nipped over from a short penalty for his second try to seemingly put the game beyond doubt.

But it was Gloucester who provided the killer blow, running in three quick tries in the closing 10 minutes.

First Adam Eustace went in off a pass from Elton Moncrieff, then Mark Cornwall poached a try when Hoadley fumbled on his own line.

Powles capped a scintillating afternoon's rugby with his second score deep in injury time after Ian Jones's hack forward.