Head coach George Skivington was left to reflect on missed opportunities as Gloucester failed to secure a play-off spot despite a 41-26 win over a spirited Northampton.
The bonus-point victory at a sold-out Kingsholm was not enough for them to overtake either Sale or Bristol, who both achieved final day victories.
Teenage wing Jack Cotgreave scored a hat-trick of tries for Gloucester, with Christian Wade adding a brace. Seb Atkinson and Tomos Williams were also on the try-scoring sheet, with Santiago Carreras adding three conversions.
Saints made 14 changes from last week’s heroic effort in the Champions Cup final but still went toe-to-toe with Gloucester throughout and were rewarded with a bonus point thanks to tries from Tom Pearson, Tom Litchfield, Jonny Weimann and Iakopo Mapu.
Match Summary 
Skivington said: “It was not our best performance today but we still got the job done.
“We went at it on a gung-ho basis in the first quarter and that played into their hands and they did a great job.
“We then brought some physicality to our game to get us over the line but it wasn’t enough for the play-off spot.
“We’ve provided some great performances here but away from home it’s been different.
“The two that stick in my mind were the away games at Sarries and Quins, as we were poor on both those occasions and needed to take something from those fixtures, which ultimately cost us.”
Northampton’s director of rugby Phil Dowson was also left disappointed, with his side finishing eighth in the Gallagher Premiership.
“We wanted to make a decent defence of our title but it wasn’t to be and it has been frustrating and disappointing,” Dowson said.
“We found it hard to replace the experience we lost in the forwards at the end of the season and we’ve been badly affected by injuries and international call-ups.
“Today, with an incredibly young side including Henry Lumley, who is the youngest player to make his debut in the Premiership, we played with a lot of heart and character.
“There are some good lessons to learn, especially in the set-piece area, but we didn’t make it hard enough for them to score tries – with the interception one being a particular body blow.
“If we had scored late on when we had a lot of pressure, it could have made for an interesting ending.”
