Gloucester and Cardiff ready for final battle

Johan Ackermann has predicted “a great final” when Gloucester and Cardiff Blues lock horns in a bid to lift the European Challenge Cup in Bilbao tonight.

Gloucester will contest their third Challenge Cup final in four seasons, while they won the tournament in 2006 and 2015.

And the Blues, who are without captain Gethin Jenkins and his fellow Wales international Alex Cuthbert through injuries, are looking to recapture a trophy they last won eight years ago. Gloucester ended their Aviva Premiership campaign with successive comprehensive defeats against Bath and Saracens, and head coach Ackermann said: “Obviously, we’ve had two disappointments in the past two weeks. But if you look at the Challenge Cup in isolation, we’ve played well, except against Pau, and got into the quarterfinals, which was a game that stood out for me because the guys did well to give us that home semifinal.

“We’ve overcome that hurdle and given ourselves a chance in the final, and hopefully the players will embrace this and put in a good performance to give ourselves an opportunity to lift the trophy and make everybody proud of the season.

“Cardiff are deservedly in the final. They are a side who will fight for everything, and I think it will be a great final between two sides that play a decent brand of rugby.”

Lock Ed Slater captains a Gloucester side showing one change from the team beaten by Bath, with Ruan Ackermann at No 8 instead of Ben Morgan.

Flanker Ellis Jenkins leads the Blues in Gethin Jenkins’ absence. Rhys Gill takes over from Jenkins at loosehead prop, with wing Blaine Scully replacing Cuthbert and tighthead Taufa’ao Filise also gaining a start.

“It’s been a great achievement to reach this stage, but we will now settle for nothing less than winning on Friday night,” said Blues head coach Danny Wilson.