Cardiff 18 Gloucester 29

A sublime

hat-trick from James Simpson-Daniel saw Gloucester beat Cardiff for the first time in five attempts

to win through to the final of the LV= Cup.

Two of

Simpson-Daniel’s tries came in the final 10 minutes as Gloucester reaped the rewards of all the hard

work they had done in keeping the home side at bay in the second half at the

Cardiff City Stadium.

Freddie

Burns scored Gloucester’s other and probably most important try from

an interception just before half time to put the visitors on level terms.

Burns also

produced the chip through which set up Simpson-Daniel’s hat-trick score which

finished Cardiff off in the 77^th minute.

Gloucester had enjoyed most of the possession and

territory in the first half but looked to be going into the break behind after

a fine individual score from Cardiff centre Casey Laulala. He collected

the ball inside his own half, beat Peter Buxton and broke free, stepping Burns

to go over beneath the posts.

Cardiff could have been further ahead after Tom James

dropped the ball over the line in the 21^st minute, denied the score

by the video referee.

But Burns’

intercept from a Ceri Sweeney pass gave Gloucester the fillip they needed going into

half-time, and they emerged the better side from the interval.

Robinson

squandered a chance from a penalty to put the Cherry and Whites in front on 51,

but four minutes later after Cardiff openside Ben White had been yellow

carded, Gloucester’s pressure finally told when Mike Tindall

released Simpson-Daniel on the overlap and in he went.

Robinson

converted from wide out but back came Cardiff from the kick-off after replacement

number eight Adam Eustace was bundled into touch from the catch.

After an

extended period of pressure during which prop Faao Filise came closest to

breaching the defence, the Cherry and Whites would have been delighted to only

concede a penalty from the boot of Blair.

As the

clock ran down and Cardiff pushed for a crucial score to give

them the lead, the ball squirted out of a ruck and found Akapusi Qera. The

Fijian looped a ball inside to replacement Tim Molenaar, who in turn released

Simpson-Daniel for a second vital score in the 72^nd minute.

The 11

point lead always looked too much to come back from, and when Simpson-Daniel

completed his hat-trick from a defence-splitting Burns chip the travelling

hoards were in ecstasy.

A late

Sweeney try was a mere consolation for Cardiff in front of a disappointing semi-final

crowd. The final is next Sunday at Worcester’s Sixways Stadium againsi either Saracens or Northampton.

Cardiff: B

Blair; T James, C Laulala, D Hewitt, C Czekaj; C Sweeney, G Cooper; F Filise, T

R Thomas, S Andrews; S Morgan, P Tito (capt); A Powell, B White (yellow card 53/63).

X Rush. Reps: H Dowden, I George, N Trevett, A Petorius (Morgan 65), M Molitika

(Powell 65), D Allinson (Cooper 69), S Norton-Knight, G Evans (Hewitt 22/29

blood, 78).

Gloucester:

F Burns; J Simpson-Daniel, M Tindall (capt), E Fuimaono-Sapolu, L Vainikolo; N

Robinson, D Lewis; N Wood, O Azam, P Doran-Jones; W James, A Brown; P Buxton, A

Qera, J Boer. Reps: D Dawidiuk (Azam 71), A Dickinson (Wood 62), P Capdevielle

(Doran-Jones 44), A Eustace (Boer 40), A Hazell (Qera 73), J Pasqualin (Lewis

65), T Molenaar (Fuimaono-Sapolu 62), T Voyce (Robinson 78).