The South Africans’ victory also ensures Leicester will play in Europe’s top tier next season.
SCRUM DOMINANCE PROVED decisive as the Sharks became the first South African side to win a major European trophy by beating Gloucester 36-22 in Friday’s Challenge Cup final in London.
Victory saw the Sharks qualify for next season’s Champions Cup, meaning only the top seven finishers in the URC regular-season table can now reach Europe’s top tier next season. If the eight-placed URC team goes on to win the competition, they and the six top regular-season finishers will join Sharks in the the Champions Cup next term.
Instead it was the Sharks, still a man down, who opened the scoring when Masuku landed a 14th-minute penalty from a scrum. Gloucester boss George Skivington changed his entire front row at half-time in a bid to shore up a creaking scrum.
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