Overnight rain had done its best to disrupt the game but David Powell's pitch more than stood up to the challenge and the same could be said for Gloucester, who despite conceding a scrum with a knock-on, put a good squeeze on the Saints to win an early penalty. From 40 metres out and with the wind in his face though, Robinson's effort strayed just wide of the post.

Faced with a similar penalty chance, the Saints decided to go to the corner and with quick ball from the top of the lineout, the Saints carried to within 5 metres of the Gloucester line. The visitors were called up for offside under the posts and Myler clipped over an easy three points for the lead.

After the early shove from the Cherry and Whites, the Saints pack responded well to win penalties out of their next two set-pieces and Gloucester were limited to punting the ball downfield in the search for territory.

Their chance came when a half break by Robinson had the Saints backpedalling but phases later the home forwards negated a Gloucester maul and Ryan Powell cleared under pressure from the back of the scrum.

Still, the Gloucester threat wasn't going away and it needed a good hit from Bruce Reihana as last man to keep May out of the corner. The winger looked lively though and on the end of a smart offload from Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, weaved his way through gaps in the Saints defence to score under the posts.

The Saints forwards continued to put the squeeze on at scrum-time however and another big effort gave Myler his second shot at the sticks, which the fly half duly took.

It almost got better for the Saints too. Gloucester countered with a threatening looking chip but Jon Clarke collected and saw space in behind and almost had the Saints away before being dragged into touch.

The scrum was proving a titanic battle, Paul Doran-Jones showing Saints fans what they can expect from him when he joins next season by drilling out a penalty against the head as the half hour came and went.

Gloucester took the chance to clear and when tacklers missed Robinson in midfield once more, the visitors took full advantage to toss the ball wide and this time May snuck into the corner. Robinson's conversion struck the post but May's first-half brace was enough for the lead at the break.

The Saints response afterwards however was to pin Gloucester back for the first ten minute of the half and with the pressure building, James Downey almost cut through. When the ball found its way back, Myler skidded a deft grubber towards the posts and Greig Tonks was first on the scene to scoop up and dot down. The conversion was a given and the Saints continued to run the game, even as Gloucester counter attacked. The Cherry and Whites held on too long on the floor and though Myler's lengthy penalty shot was short, things were looking more promising for the Saints.

That said, when Gloucester did make it into the Saints half, the home defence went in at the side and Robinson recaptured the lead with a penalty from 35 metres with the hour mark looming.

There was a further chance for the Welshman just moments later too, Saints guilty of pulling down a Gloucester maul and it was an error they were punished for as the gap was widened to five.

Not for long though - Myler's drilled restart was spilled and from the resulting scrum, the Saints had yet another penalty that the Saints fly half converted, but they would find chances hard to come by as the game came to a close.

The early second-half dominance hadn't lasted and Gloucester did well to wind down almost ten minutes in Saints territory. Though the home side got their hands on the ball once more, Gloucester weren't prepared to give an inch and when another scrum went against the head on halfway, the game was up for the Saints.

Travis Perkins Man of the Match:
Nicky Robinson

Timeline:
3mins GLOUCS Miss pen Robinson
7mins SAINTS Pen Myler 3-0
22mins GLOUCS Try May Con Robinson 3-7
26mins SAINTS Pen Myler 6-7
38mins GLOUCS Try May 6-12
HALF-TIME SAINTS GLOUCESTER
47mins SAINTS Try Tonks Con Myler 13-12
52mins SAINTS Miss pen Myler
57mins GLOUCS Pen Robinson 13-15
60mins GLOUCS Pen Robinson 13-18
63mins SAINTS Pen Myler 16-18
FULL-TIME SAINTS 16 GLOUCESTER 18