The message to players as troubled Gloucester face exotic European fixture
George Skivington, the under-pressure Gloucester director of rugby, has demanded his players rediscover their famous “dog” to ensure the European Challenge Cup clash with Black Lion in Georgia does not become another major set back for a team that was hammered 51-26 by Bristol last weekend.
Gloucester have lost six Premiership games in a row prompting CEO Alex Brown to issue a statement to appease worried fans and Skivington believes a change in emphasis from defence to attack is at the root of their problems. Gloucester, who used to have a reputation as one of the toughest outfits in the league, saw a remarkable 49 defenders beaten by the Bristol attackers and that brought problems to a head.
Skivington said: “The most important thing from a coaching point of view is that we see that Gloucester dog that we pride ourselves on. It is important from the players point of view we represent that in Georgia. We have been a top four defensive side in the Premiership for the last two years but there has been a shift in mind set and we are going to do something about it. We have not changed the defensive system, just worked on ball in hand and we are a real threat. The weekend was a big kick for us. “
With just five days between their return from Georgia on Sunday and the Friday night home Cup game with Clermont, Skivington has opted to leave Argentinian internationals Santi Carreras and Matias Alemanno, Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit and England international Ollie Thorley at home. “To go fully loaded in Georgia and fully loaded for Clermont would be a big challenge,” he explained. “We planned this a few weeks out and we have to balance the squad with a five-day trip to Georgia.”
Getting video of the Georgian side has been a challenge and while Gloucester have “four or five” games to study they were only filmed from one angle although the evidence has made it clear the West Country forwards are in for a tough time against members of the Georgian Rugby World Cup squad in the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi. Skivington said: “We have enough games to know that they are a big, physical side with a sizeable pack. It is going to be a hard work contest.“
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All of these media pundits always miss the obvious whenever they analyse what is ailing or assisting the game. Rugby always has contentious points for debate when picking apart individual games and finding fault with itself. All this focus and scrutiny on “speeding up the game”, “high ball in play” etc is all contextual to the fan. As a tv viewer, if you’re absorbed into a game, regardless if your team is playing or not, more ball in play time and action are all byproducts of the contest. A good contest subliminally affects your memory in selectively remembering all the good aspects. A poor contest and your brain has switched off because its a blowout and the result is never in doubt or it’s a real chore to watch and remain engaged throughout. The URC, Top 14 and English premiership are all competitions that feel like there’s real jeopardy each week. The dominance of Super rugby by NZ teams was unhealthy from a sustainable interest perspective. You can’t fault those teams or the players, but the lack of competitions won by SA and Australian teams long term was always going to test the faith and patience of die-hard and casual fans from those regions. SANZAR took their eye off the fans and fans voted with their feet and subscriptions. They were so concerned about expanding their product they forgot the golden rule about broadcasting live sport. Viewers tune in more when there’s an atmosphere and a true contest. You need to fill stadiums to create one, host unions need to do more to service ticket buyers, and this year proves the other, there’s more interest in Super rugby this year only because more games are competitive with less foregone conclusions. All these micro statistics bandied about, only interest the bean counters and trainspotters.
Go to commentsIt’s a good, timely wake up call for NZ Rugby (seem to be a few of them lately!) - sort out the bureaucratic nonsense at board level. We can’t expect to stay the number one option without keeping fans/players engaged. We’ve obviously been bleeding players to league for years but can’t let the floodgates open (although I think this headline is hyperbolic as it’s a result of a recent Warriors pathways system where they are tracking things more closely) Understand the need to focus boys on rugby if they’re at a proud rugby school too, don’t think it’s harsh at all re Barakat in Hamilton. Reward the committed players with squad positions. An elite 1st XV system in NZ has done more for league than they even realise, think it’s good to protect our game further.
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