GLOUCESTER director of rugby Nigel Davies hopes his side have finally reached a turning point after they clung on for their second successive Aviva Premiership win and their third win in four.

Gareth Steenson’s last-gasp conversion went wide for the Exeter Chiefs after Don Armand had gone over in the final minute and the Cherry & Whites held out to leapfrog their victims into eighth in the table.

Matt Jess’ try had put the Chiefs in front at the interval but Charlie Sharples crossed shortly after half-time and with Rob Cook adding three penalties, Gloucester took the win.

And Davies was all smiles after the victory which he hopes will prove a watershed moment in a troublesome campaign for the West Country outfit.

“That was our second Premiership win on the trot – that is pretty significant, so I was pleased about that. We had really targeted this one as a key game in our season.” he said.

“It can almost turn round our season a little bit. Exeter are having a great season and rightly so get a lot of plaudits, but right now we sit above them in the league.

“We have had a tough season. We’ve been nowhere near where we would have liked to have been.

“But we are still battling and to get three wins on the bounce – and come up from where we have been – is pretty significant and the boys should take a lot of credit for that.”

For the Chiefs it was a second successive league defeat after they lifted the LV= Cup crown at the start of the month.

And head coach Rob Baxter was left to rue what might have been as Steenson, on as a replacement for Henry Slade, pushed his conversion attempt wide with the final kick of the game.

“It was great endeavour from the guys at the end,” he said.

“It was tough for Gareth because he hadn’t had any shots at goal at that point and there was a very tough wind. Gareth missing a kick is not a big issue for me – it’s a bit more how we needed a conversion in the last seconds to win the game.”

Every match in the Aviva Premiership Rugby Season is crucial, to be there to support your team buy your ticket from premiershiprugby.com/tickets