Lamb chops down Ospreys

Ryan Lamb kicked over 12 points to help Gloucester book their place in the final of the EDF Energy Cup with a 17-0 win over holders Ospreys at the Ricoh Arena.

As well as the accuracy of Lamb's boot, the Cherry and Whites were indebted to a stoic defensive display as Ospreys' quest for back-to-back Anglo-Welsh Cup titles came to an end.

The Gloucester fly-half fired over three penalties in total, and, after his drop-goal dissected the posts with 13 minutes remaining, the West Country outfit all but guaranteed their place at Twickenham.

Ospreys continued to power forward, but, in an attempt to fashion an opening, Iain Balshaw intercepted Mike Phillips' misplaced pass on 77 minutes and ran from inside his own 22 to seal the win.

Dean Ryan's men now will now face Cardiff who overcame Northampton in the other semi-final on Saturday.

Cagey opening

Lamb kicked the semi-final underway at the neutral venue and the Gloucester No.10 opened his account for the afternoon with just three minutes on the clock.

Gavin Henson, covering for the injured Lee Byrne at full-back for Ospreys, was guilty of blocking Gloucester counterpart Olly Morgan when in pursuit of an up and under and Lamb crashed over the three points.

The remainder of a cagey opening 40 minutes was littered with goal-kicking errors and injuries to key players on either side.

James Hook spurned two reachable penalty chances midway through the half and Lamb failed to make Ospreys pay with the final play of the half when he dragged his shot wide.

Gloucester suffered a huge blow on 29 minutes when influential skipper Mike Tindall left the field with a knee injury sustained following an innocuous tackle from Sonny Parker.

Wales star Henson's injury woes also continued and he trudged off the field two minutes before half-time with an ankle complaint - joining compatriot Ian Gough, who had earlier left the field with a dead leg.

Well-executed

The penalty count rose again four minutes into the second half - Tom Smith the guilty party - and this time Lamb dissected the posts to put Gloucester 6-0 ahead.

Ospreys looked the more threatening as the second half wore on - flanker Marty Holah breaking the gain line with pace on 55 minutes only to be denied five metres short of the Gloucester line after more frantic defending.

After soaking up a sustained spell of Ospreys pressure, the Cherry and Whites continued to hit their opponents on the break with Lamb orchestrating play cleverly with ball in hand.

And despite missing a long range penalty on the hour, Lamb added his and Gloucester's ninth point of the game with a well-executed drop-goal on 67 minutes, leaving Ospreys with plenty to do in the final stages.

For all Ospreys' endeavour their indiscipline continued to let them down - prop Paul James not binding properly in the scrum allowing Lamb another penalty opportunity which he took.

The Magners League title hopefuls continued to probe, however, their fate was sealed with three minutes to go when Balshaw intercepted Phillips' looped pass and ran from inside his own 22 to dive over.