Spotlight On - Gloucester Rugby

Gloucester Rugby had the longest season of all last year with their two playoff matches against Bordeaux-Bègles. It was a challenging way to end the season and as Gloucester fans will vividly remember Pierre Bernard's drop goal denied them a place in the European Champions Cup. At the time it will have hurt however being part of the Challenge Cup  may actually prove to be a blessing in disguise given the condensed fixture schedule.  

Last season it is fair to say that the Cherry & Whites started in disarray. Prior to round one they had little time to gel together as a squad and with an wholly new coaching set up it is no wonder that their opening trip to Franklin’s Gardens was tough to watch. This year they have enjoyed quite the opposite run in as David Humphrey’s shared;

“You are absolutely right in terms of feeling the change this year, we are much more confident and much more knowledgeable about the players that we have put together and the group that we have.”

“This year and the long pre-season, whilst posing it’s challenges, has actually been very beneficial to us. As a group of players we have managed to get an awful lot of rugby done. We have had a rugby ball involved from day one although the traditional conditioning part has been important it is the rugby element that we have worked on.”

David Humphrey’s hasn’t gone overboard in terms of signings and in my opinion that is a sensible move after they signed 17 new individuals before the start of last season and his viewpoint on it affirms that opinion:

“One of the key elements of successful teams is consistency & stability, on and off the pitch. What that means is year on year if you have a playing squad that is stable and a coaching squad that is stable then you can add layers upon how you are going to play."

"If you are trying to play in a different way and trying to change lots of players and lots of coaches it is hard to make it work. So we have managed to develop that consistency over the course of the last 12 months, we haven’t had a big turnover of players instead we’ve brought in some key men who we believe will make a big impact.”

One such individual is Paul Doran-Jones and after a season out due to injuries he will be keen to prove himself back at his old stomping ground. John Afoa’s scrummaging prowess is well know however when he wasn’t present Gloucester felt the impact and a fit PDJ has the ability to provide consistency in that area. Rob Cook is another that will return from injury strewn season and already has looked back to his best in their pre-season West Country Challenge Cup matches.

As mentioned earlier the fact that the Cherry and Whites missed out on the Champions Cup could prove to be a blessing in disguise for they have the ability to rotate some of their big game players when it comes to European weeks and still deliver the results. The message at Gloucester Rugby is clear, this season is about building and developing from the last with consistency on and off the pitch being vital:

“That penalty [James Hook's against Saracens] almost summed up our inconsistency of our whole season with some very good stuff and some very poor stuff. What we need to is not just to get consistency off the pitch with the players and staff but we need consistency in our performance and that is something that we have worked hard on and focused on and the proof will be over the next few weeks.”

Players In - Tom Marshall from Chiefs, Jeremy Thrush from Hurricanes, Paul Doran-Jones from Harlequins, Paddy McAllister from Aurillac, Nicky Thomas from Ospreys, Willi Heinz from Crusaders, Tom Lindsay from Wasps, Tom Hicks, Henry Purdy & Bill Meakes Promoted from Academy & Matt Protheroe from Hartpury College RFC

Players Out - Dan Robson to Wasps, Aled Thomas to Scarlets, Aleki Lutui to Ampthill, Tom Palmer to Bennetton Treviso, Shane Monahan released, Rory Bartle to London Scottish. Jonny Hill to Exeter Chiefs & Saun Knight to Newport Gwent Dragons