Sharks win Challenge Cup final, reducing URC Champions Cup places to seven

Connacht's hopes of qualifying for the Champions Cup next season suffered a setback as Sharks won the Challenge Cup final, beating Gloucester by 36-22.

Sharks victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium secured their spot in the Champions Cup next year and means that only the top seven teams in the URC will qualify for European's premier rugby competition next season.

The result also keeps alive the possibility that only the top six teams in the final standings would qualify for the Champions Cup. In the event that the team who finishes eighth in the table wins the tournament outright then they would also go forward as one of the URC's eight representatives in the Champions Cup.

Sharks were full value for their win and apart from a dominant opening 10 minutes and lively finish, Gloucester were conclusively outplayed in front of a 34,761 crowd.

Gloucester had lifted the Premiership Rugby Cup earlier this season and - after enduring a club record nine-successive Gallagher Premiership losses - Skivington chose to focus on Europe at the expense of the league

That led to a weakened sided being fielded against Northampton earlier this month and a 90-0 demolition followed with Skivington hoping the juggling of playing resources would pay dividends.

But instead Gloucester were well beaten with late tries by Santiago Socino and Freddie Clarke giving the final scoreline a kinder sheen as Jonny May's farewell match failed to produce a scripted ending.

The Sharks are the first South African side to win a European competition and the foundations for their victory were laid by the 'Bomb Squad' front-row combination of Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Vincent Koch.

Although they went on to dominate, they spent the opening 10 minutes defending their line