Gloucester 17-14 Exeter - Zach Mercer plays starring role as Gloucester hold off Exeter fightback to reach final

Gloucester held onto their lead in a thrilling conclusion to their clash with Exeter Chiefs to cement their place in this year’s Premiership Cup final.

The first half saw the hosts rush to a 17-0 lead at Kingsholm as Zach Mercer, recently snubbed by Steve Borthwick, was at the heart of everything the Cherry and Whites did.

Exeter finally kicked into gear in the second half through tries from Jacques Vermuelen and Ross Vintcent and threatened to steal the win from Gloucester. But the host’s marvellous defence shone in the latter stages, shutting out Exeter at crucial moments to hold on in a tense final few minutes.

If Steve Borthwick wasn’t watching Zach Mercer before today, then he should be now. The No 8 was at the heart of everything good that Gloucester did against the Exeter Chiefs.

Just six minutes into the game he picked the ball from a turnover and sold Exeter centre Zack Wimbush with a clean dummy, sprinting into the 22 and passing to captain Lewis Ludlow to race to the line.

Gloucester have had a tough time of it in the Premiership, winning just three games, but they started to look like the side George Skivington was building a few seasons ago.

Already up on the scoreboard, Gloucester started to dominate the Chiefs at the ruck and the scrum, forcing several penalties before getting their second try in the 12th minute.

A zipping flat pass from Caolan Englefield let Max Llewellyn cut through the defence and under the posts with ease to bring his side up to 12-0.

Mercer, who had spent 30 minutes putting on a show of footwork and power, then decided it was time for some more heroics. He set off from his 22 and carried roughly 40m into the Exeter half, before sliding a perfect grubber kick across the ground for Josh Hathaway to race onto, gather on the bounce and score.

The eventual winners kept the visitors scoreless throughout the rest of the half, smashing back runners and holding up a try in the final minutes.

Exeter entered the second half with some much-needed zip they’d been lacking all day, but it only lasted five minutes before Gloucester regained the control. Despite that, the hosts couldn’t find the kill switch to put the game to bed.

But with 20 minutes to go, the Chiefs finally came alive. Gloucester’s incredible defence finally cracked under the weight of Exeter’s pack, and Vermeulen exploded over the tryline with a low dive under the posts.

It took only six minutes for them to add to it. The likes of Will Rigg and Vermeulen were starting to make their presence known, and a lineout in their opponent’s 22 was the perfect opportunity to get them back in the game.

Jack Yeandle threw to Lewis Pearson at the lineout and the maul is set around the lock, the ball shuffled back to Vintcent and the hooker crashes over in a mass of blue shirts.

At 17-14 with 10 minutes to go. It looked like a surging Exeter side would leave Kingsholm as finalists.

Gloucester were creaking as Exeter were beginning to play with pace and power, but every passing minute worked in their favour.

George Barton essentially killed the clash with a stunning bit of game management as he drilled the ball into the corner. Exeter fullback Josh Hodge attempted to catch it, only to see it slide off his hand and bounce into the corner.

Exeter may have won a penalty at the scrum but made no distance with the kick down-field. Not that it mattered as Freddie Clarke expertly stole the lineout, leading his side to kick the ball out and cement their place as Premiership Cup finalists.

Undoubtedly Zach Mercer. The No 8 was near-flawless as he produced a game-winning opening 40 minutes for Gloucester.

He tackled with ferocity, ran with pace, and dummied and jink his way past numerous defenders with some of the magic that Louis Rees-Zammit clearly left behind for him.

It was, possibly, the back rower’s best half in a red and white shirt so far since returning to England from the Top 14. If Borthwick wasn’t watching before, he should be now.

Gloucester have been perennial dark horses over the last few years. George Skivington has built a team that, at times, have looked and acted like the best in the Premiership. A strong fifth place finish two seasons ago made way to 10th place finish last season, and now they sit ninth this year.

But as Premiership Cup finalists, they have a chance to finally have something to show for their hard work and transformation over recent years. They’ll have to get past either Ealing Trailfinders or Leicester Tigers to get their hands on it first, although.

7' TRY! Gloucester 5 - 0 Exeter Chiefs: Lewis Ludlow crosses over in the corner but that try was all Zach Mercer! Mercer picks up the ball from the ruck, accelerates and dummies past a Chief defender and passes to Ludlow who scores easily.

12' TRY! Gloucester 12 - 0 Exeter Chiefs: The forwards did the hard work short of Exeter's line, but a beautiful, flat pass in front of the posts from Caolan Englefield puts Max Llewellyn through a gap.

32' TRY! Gloucester 17 - 0 Exeter Chiefs: Zach Mercer breaks a weak tackle and skips from Gloucester's 22 to the try line. He puts a grubber kick in for Josh Hathaway to pounce on and score.

40' HELD UP Gloucester 17 - 0 Exeter Chiefs: Gloucester hold up Exeter at the try line, with Caolan Englefield getting his hands under the ball.

61' TRY! Gloucester 17 - 7 Exeter Chiefs: Chiefs finally get a lifeline through Jacques Vermeulen who dives in under the posts. Several changes for the hosts has injected some much-needed energy in this Exeter side.

68' TRY! Gloucester 17 - 14 Exeter Chiefs: Their decision to go to the corner pays off and their maul powers through Gloucester's pack with ease. Italy international Ross Vintcent touches down, and Skinner's conversion cuts the deficit to just three with 11 minutes to go.

77' Gloucester 17 - 14 Exeter Chiefs: Barton punts the ball into Exeter's 22 and Josh Hodge reaches for the ball only to see it hit his hand and bounce into touch.

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