I Love Gloucester

Four players of Gloucester this weekend will bolster Hartpury in their fixture of pre-season against Rosslyn Park.

Harry Randall Scrum-half, Alex Sevilleprop and Alex Craig, Scottish lock have been signed as new boys for the Championship this season on a dual registration, but they were unavailable for trip to Worcester that take place last weekend as the players were still in the recovery period after playing in the World Rugby U20 Championship.

All three players joined Charlie Chapman, who is Cherry and White academy another scrum-half.
The head coach of Hartpury, Mark Cornwell said, “It will fine to see them where they are at. They are there only to improve us”.

He further said, “The bench of Chapman off did really well. They showed in the match how quick he is on Saturday.”

Craig and Randall both will start for Hartpury along with Chapman and Seville among the replacements.

Joe Mullis, Hooker, who is playing opposite to Leinster for Gloucester on Friday, and Tom Seabrook at center, who has not been with the England Under-18s, are some of the other players that Hartpury will have on a dual registration.

In the next season, the championship clubs can field players with dual registered up to 10 and Hartpury is expected to bring more in the team, however, the player’s availability could be affected by A League games increase.

Cornwell said “We are contacting and chatting to different clubs to check what they have got. But the major problem is that all the Bristol and the Premiership clubs have got the A League and they are having twice more games in comparing to the last season. This is the challenge that we are facing, but we know very well how to overcome with this type of situation.”

Wasps confirmed the signing of the professional prop forward Paul Doran-Jones from their Premiership rivals Gloucester few days ago.

The ex-Gloucester prop forward, who is capable of playing both prop roles, joined for a third time, having also been with Wasps in 2008 and again briefly on loan last season.

The 32-year old, who won six caps for England in the year 2009, is a former schoolmate of Wasps, England and Lions flanker James Haskell.

“Having spent some time at the club on loan this year, I am hoping to link back up with them and working under Dai Young,” Doran said.

“During my time there, their set-up really impressed me. The club possesses a wonderful group of prop. It is a massive advantage to me, from a player who has not passed through the academy system.”

Doran didn’t fail to acknowledge some of the teams that had been his support and back bone all along the way, namely South Woodham, Colchester and Cambridge.

He also stated that any dream could be achieved as long as there was dedication accompanied by vibrant hard work.

Wasps have also signed 23-year-old tight-head prop David Langley from National League 1 side Cambridge to strengthen their squad.

They announced the new signing of Langley from Cambridge to support the new man, Paul and also to help minimize the effect of the departure of Tom Bristow.

Dai Young, Wasps director of rugby noted that Paul’s short time at the club last season while on loan had been quite impressive as he impacted a lot of positive values on their props through his experience and physical abilities.

Young also expressed how Paul has been a blessing to the club before and how desperately they wanted him before he joined them now to continue putting in his best.

Gloucester Rugby in-order to make their performance intense have made three changes in the starting line-up of the team, one tactical and two injuries-enforced, for the quarter-final of the European Rugby Challenge Cup at home to Cardiff Blues.

The match will start at 8:05pm sharp.
Team Gloucester returns to the European action on the evening of Saturday what could well be an encounter of classic Anglo-Welsh against the Blues.

Fresh off a Premiership victory of 32-14 over Bristol Rugby last weekend, team Gloucester made one change in the pack and two in the backs.

Andrew Symons and David Halaifonua picked up injuries at Ashton Gate and were replaced by Billy Twelvetrees and Charlie Sharples respectively. Meanwhile, Ross Moriarty took back the place of Sione Kalamafoni.

The other replacement includes the return of Mark Atkinson. The player has been sidelined after the game at La Rochelle in the mid of December.

Giving the preview of the game to the local media this week, David Humphreys the Director of Rugby confirmed the importance of the game also admitted that the whole team members are looking forward to it.

He said, “We know the importance of game very much. And for a few weeks, it is being in the background. This is a knockout competition. It is the same game that we have enjoyed over the course since last two years, and now everyone is looking forward for the same.

“But we are conscious that we have to build on the performance of last week, which was good, however, this weekend we have to get to be better than before.”

He further added that “For most of us, the match against the Dragons last year was a low point. So, we know the important this game in this season.”

Callum Braley, the No. 9 for Gloucester Rugby, has come out to hail his team and colleagues as well for their impressive performance in their 17-17 draw with Bath Rugby.

James Hook had sent home a last-gasp conversion thus keeping alive his side’s hope of progressing in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

For Bath, a late score by Aled Brew, and four penalties coming from the boot of Wales international Rhys Priestland had almost sealed the victory for them as they led by 17-10 a few minutes into the end of the game.

However, within the remaining minutes into the end of the game, Ben Vellacott found his way and went on to score for Gloucester, as Hook held his nerve down, thus sealing a draw for his team.

Even though he was quite disappointed that the team was unable to take home all points from the game at the Recreation Ground, Braley was full of applause for his colleagues for their late fight back which saw them share in the spoils of the game.

“Bath put us under a lot of pressure in the second half and we were really up against it but the boys dug very deep indeed. We managed to get a couple of points out of the game eventually which is always better than losing and so that’s positive,” he said.

Braley also noted that Bath had shown strength and an impressive performance as well in the second half, and should be given credit for that.

“It was scrappy out there and at half time we spoke about sticking to our systems and keep doing what we had been. We wanted more field position but we didn’t quite manage that and so you have to give credit to Bath for their performance in the second half,” he added.

With the fundraising month drawing to a conclusion, Gloucester Rugby is in a frantic battle to ensure that they climb up the rungs of the ladder at the Movember league table.

Jacob Rowan, Gloucester Rugby’s mo captain is very much determined to propel the Cherry and Whites to the top of the Movember leaderboard.

With the Movember tally for the Premiership Rugby already up to the £23,000 mark and a little time still left to gather more funds, there is a frantic drive for more donations as all 12 clubs hope to finish with a flourish.

For 26 year old Rowan, it is his first year as Gloucester’s mo skipper. And last year where the Cherry and Whites had ended the month behind Northampton Saints as the second highest fundraisers, he had acted in the assisting capacity for Richard Hibbard.

Rowan’s teammates have got right behind the effort, even though his tache still leaves plenty to be desired. Speaking about the Movember, Rowan had said,

“Richard Hibbard and I did it as a joint effort last year, and all the boys have got involved again so it’s good for the team and a good laugh to look at everyone’s taches,”

“But on a serious note, it’s a really important cause to raise awareness and raise some money as well.
“I’ve been brought up doing Movember. When I used to be at Leeds it was a big culture over there and the club would always do a big job for the whole month.”

Rowan was happy that the same culture he had grown up in at Leeds was being appreciated down in his current club. He however noted that his Mo is always on the average while that of his other team mates, Paddy McAllister and SioneKalamafoni was going well too.

The Gloucester team might not have been able to get a qualifying position for the Champions Cup this year but the club has been scouting around in the transfer market. It has not remained idle and news is rife that Andrew Symons would be joining this team as opposed to joining London Irish that was slated to happen.

There had been rumors that Andrew would be joining the London Irish team. As it often happens, rumors are ripe in the market till a transfer finally takes place. That is when the final truth comes out. In this case Gloucester has been able to bag the talents of Andrew Symons for the upcoming season while London Irish has to scout around for another talent now. When the previous season was drawing to a close it was rumored that Andrew would be joining London Irish from Worcester.

Andrew is brother to Exiles captain, Matt Symons. As the team has relegated Symons has revealed his final decision to stay with the Aviva Premiership teams, moving to Kingsholm to be part of Gloucester rugby club. Worcester seems to be set to lose two key players this season. Sean Maitland would also be joining Saracens this season who is an international winger.

Gloucester’s CEO and director of rugby might have had a hand in convincing Andrew to join them. The team, having lost their position among the top teams to qualify for the Champions Cup, needs to spruce up their skills and talents. It is feels that bringing in new payers will infuse new blood into the team.

This might help in stepping up the skills that the club has and it is vital that they are able to win more tournaments and matches this year. On the other hand, being a large club with a large fan base and stadium definitely helps to get more players into the team

The Gloucester team might not have the director’s ideal team when they started out, but the triumph they secured at the Aviva Premiership against Sale Sharks is something that the team has not been able to acquire since the year 2001.

Hence, it is definitely something to celebrate for the team. The team members were not without ads as most members were afflicted with injuries.

Even with injuries the team members were able to overcome the obstacles and end the home run of the Manchester outfit that has remained unbeaten till now. Sale has been on a great winning streak till now, not facing defeat at the AJ Bell stadium in this season’s league so far. However, Gloucester was able to put an end to that and secured a victory of 12-11. This victory has definitely helped to put the Gloucester team in a positive frame of mind. They had been struggling for a while now. Having won a game against an opposing team like Sale has given a great boost to the team. The team had four centers in the back and three scrum halves defend the team towards the end of the game.

The squad proved that they had character and their heart in the game. The fight had been huge, but they displayed a competitive edge that was admirable. The team simply needs to gear up when it comes to more detailed and accuracy in their approach. The victory is a large one for the team. As the team looks forward to move up the league they need to get the small details right so that they can win the big games. Everything said and done, it is a great win for the Gloucester team and something that their fans are proud of. It will surely impact the consecutive games they play with better confidence for sure.

This year Gloucester rugby club will remain aggressive in collecting fine players from the market and sprucing up their skills for the season coming up. The CEO of the team is confident of their competitive rates in attracting potential fine players in the market.

The transfer market being open, Gloucester will remain competitive in it even though they have not been able to retain a top position in Europe this year. Stephen Vaughan is confident of signing up some key players for the squad. He is working on the same with the director of rugby for the team, David Humphreys.

The club players are feeling the disappointment for having missed out a chance to play in the Champions Cup this year as well. However they have the financial strength and a history of good performances which the CEO feels would be adequate to attract key players from the market. As they finished eighth in the Premiership they have lost out on considerable money that comes in for the qualifying teams as ad and expenses to cover for participating in the tournament.

However the CEO is optimistic that they will be able to attract big players as the club remains an attractive brand in the world of European rugby. It is known to be a big club that offers a large playing stadium and support of a large fan base. he feels that the club is privileged to have several players like Tom Marshall, Charlie Sharples and Johnny May who continue to play for the club and will remain with the club for the next season.

The CEO is confident that adding one or two more new players to the team will help to ensure that the squad is spruced up for the upcoming tournaments this year. With the right mix of talent and motivation it is believed that the team will be able to gain back its position among the top teams in the continent this year.