Gloucester Rugby’s season has been an emotional one with all
manner of highs and lows from the opening game at Franklin’s Gardens the final
whistle on Sunday evening at Sixways some 8 months and 27 days later.
The start of the 2014/15 Aviva Premiership season was always going to be a challenge for Gloucester Rugby, the late arrival of the full coaching team meant that they were playing catch up and in the first round of the Aviva Premiership season it showed. The 53 points to 6 defeat wasn’t pretty and it will have hurt every single player, fan and coach alike however, as any individual or team will tell you it isn’t always about where you start from but where you end up. As a collective Gloucester have made great strides since that fateful Friday night and indeed since this time last year. Last season we were bemoaning a creaky and at times almost non-existent set piece and voicing feelings of unfulfilled potential however now the sentiments are of a more positive nature, praising Gloucester’s fortitude, cohesion and strength in spite of losing their way slightly in the final loss to Bordeaux-Begles.
The start of the 2014/15 Aviva Premiership season was always going to be a challenge for Gloucester Rugby, the late arrival of the full coaching team meant that they were playing catch up and in the first round of the Aviva Premiership season it showed. The 53 points to 6 defeat wasn’t pretty and it will have hurt every single player, fan and coach alike however, as any individual or team will tell you it isn’t always about where you start from but where you end up. As a collective Gloucester have made great strides since that fateful Friday night and indeed since this time last year. Last season we were bemoaning a creaky and at times almost non-existent set piece and voicing feelings of unfulfilled potential however now the sentiments are of a more positive nature, praising Gloucester’s fortitude, cohesion and strength in spite of losing their way slightly in the final loss to Bordeaux-Begles.
Throughout the season James Hook and Greig Laidlaw have developed
a solid understanding and partnership, it is one that has allowed strong
distribution out to Gloucester’s weapons out wide and Laidlaw’s 82% accuracy
off the kicking tee has been a revelation. The injury to Rob Cook has meant
that Charlie Sharples has plied much of his trade at Full Back and this has
allowed him to cause sides all manner of problems with May re-finding his own form post his 6 Nations disappointment. As we expected the stability
of the set piece has come from the Cherry and White’s big name signings Afoa
and Hibbard, it didn’t come from day one but like everything Cherry and White
this season it build as the rounds went on.
Nothing has been delivered the easy way this year; matches have
gone down to the wire, entered extra time and have been won and lost from
minute penalties and points. It has to be said that the quality of true
consistency isn’t quite there yet for David Humprehys’ side as their nine
domestic victories, one draw and twelve losses highlights however for their
first season altogether a piece of European silverware certainly isn’t a bad
output.
Gloucester are retaining their key men; Kvesic, May and Morgan in
particular and bringing in Tom Marshall from the Chiefs and Jeremy Thrush into
the Second Row and this recruitment will build the foundations from their first
year together. The blend of the new men at the helm is working well for the side, players of immense talent are progressing and are delivering, something that was a criticism laid at the door of the club last year. Right now the Bordeaux loss will be raw, however when the pain
settles the positives should be taken, for they’ve shown real grit and tenacity
this season.
Key Men - Greig Laidlaw, Charlie Sharples & John Afoa
Most Impressive Result - There have been scoring high scoring, emotional games but the manner in which they closed out the Final of the Challenge Cup has to stand out, not in the Premiership but built on Premiership foundations. Round 2's bounce back, at home, also took huge grit.
Strongest Signings for 15/16 Season - New Zealand international second row Jeremy Thrush from the Hurricanes & the new contract for Ben Morgan.
Strongest Signings for 15/16 Season - New Zealand international second row Jeremy Thrush from the Hurricanes & the new contract for Ben Morgan.
Overall Assessment - Thrown in at the deep end to start with, notable progression during the season, consistency is the aim now.
