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Gloucester CEO pens open letter addressing George Skivington future
By Josh Raisey
Gloucester CEO Alex Brown has given his "full support" to director of rugby George Skivington ahead of next season.
The Cherry and Whites brought an end to a bizarre campaign recently, where a Premiership Rugby Cup and Challenge Cup final were accompanied by a dismal Gallagher Premiership campaign with only five wins and a second-from-bottom finish.
In a letter written to Gloucester fans on Wednesday, Brown said how he and the club's coaching staff have "spent considerable time reviewing last season".
The former Gloucester lock proceeded to outline where they believe the club went wrong last season, outlining the "cycle" the West Country outfit found themselves in. He noted that fans had expressed a displeasure with the club's style of play, and vowed to address that issue.
"We want to entertain at Kingsholm," he wrote.
"We want to make you proud of your team. We want everyone here to enjoy what they do; we believe that comes with a freedom and license to be creative.
"We have been guilty of not taking that approach, of potentially being too restrictive in our game and that may have put unnecessary pressure on all of us; coaches and players alike.
"That pressure can quickly mount and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and arguably, we found ourselves in that cycle last season."
Brown believes the fleet of new signings arriving at Kingsholm this summer, particularly in the back line, will help steer Gloucester in a new direction under the leadership of Skivington, who has the board's full support.
Gloucester have plenty of international class incoming with Gareth Anscombe, Tomos Williams and Christian Wade set to add to the "exciting talent" Brown feels the club already possesses.
After their season finished in May, Gloucester are now back in preseason training, with the new Premiership season beginning on the weekend of September 20.
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Latest Comments
SCW really dislikes Eddie, doesn't he?
His words in 2019 before the RWC final that he now says should have resulted in Eddie's firing:
"Was Saturday’s sensational World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand England’s greatest ever performance? Yes, unquestionably, would be my answer."
So let's fire the coach one game later? Duh!
Go to commentsIreland have every right to back themselves for a win. But the key variable has little to do with recent record etc.
The reality is that Ireland are a settled team with tons of continuity, an established style, and a good depth chart, whereas NZ are fundamentally rebuilding. The questions are all about what Razor is doing and how far along he is in that program.
NZ are very close to really clicking. Against England all of the chatter is about how England could have closed out a win, but failed to do so. This has obscured the observation that NZ were by far the more creative and effective in attack, beyond the 3-1 try differential and disallowed tries. They gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and made many simple errors (including knock-ons and loose kicks). Those things are very fixable, and when they do so we are once again going to be staring at a formidable NZ team.
Last week we heard the England fans talking confidently about their chances against NZ, but England did not end up looking like the better team on the field or the scoreboard. The England defense was impressive enough, but still could not stop the tries.
Ireland certainly has a better chance, of course, but NZ is improving fast, and I would not be surprised at a convincing All Black win this week. It may turn on whether NZ can cut out the simple mistakes.
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