Gloucester were last night celebrating reaching their first English cup final for 13 years - and also lifting a degree of financial gloom surrounding the club.

Gloucester kept themselves on course for a domestic league and cup double after defeating European Champions Leicester 16-11 in a pulsating Powergen Cup semi-final at Franklin's Gardens, Northampton.

But, just as importantly, a Twickenham day out on April 5 will generate
much-needed cash.

Gloucester owner Tom Walkinshaw is currently reeling from the financial
collapse of his motor sport empire, a scenario which has raised huge question marks about the rugby club's long-term future.

"The cloud is lifting,'' said Gloucester rugby director Nigel Melville, after
seeing his side pinch an exciting victory courtesy of quick-fire second-half
tries by wing Marcel Garvey and full-back Thinus Delport.

"There will be some more income coming into the business, and that is great news for us,'' added Melville.

"It is fantastic to be going to Twickenham - it will give a lift to
everyone.''

Zurich Premiership leaders Gloucester were made to work hard for their win after establishing a 13-6 advantage during the third quarter.

Leicester, who last reached an English cup final in 1997, dominated the
closing stages, but a 77th minute try from flanker Josh Kronfeld was not
enough.

"We suddenly broke them down with two tries in the second half which were a result of good running and handling,'' added Melville.

"The guys were pretty confident at half-time, and we knew that we had to keep working and keep our accuracy and patience.''

Gloucester coach Dean Ryan added: "We had to work very hard, but our guys knew what was at stake - they had to weather the storm during the closing stages.''

Referee Steve Lander, who awarded 20 penalties against Gloucester, oversaw two uncontested scrums in the dying minutes after Gloucester lost props Andy Deacon and Rodrigo Roncero through injury.

With club captain Phil Vickery currently recovering from a back operation,
Gloucester have something of a front-row crisis, but there was some encouraging news with Trevor Woodman going on as a half-time substitute for his first appearance in almost three months.

Leicester boss Dean Richards had no complaints about the result, claiming: "We didn't play well on the day and we didn't deserve to win.

"We should have scored more points than we did but our execution in certain areas was poor. We didn't think that we would be quite as uncoordinated as we were.

"It is bitterly disappointing - we had set out our store to win the cup this
season - and the team as a whole is disappointed with the performance.''