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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.”

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 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.

The English media has always had a tendency to blow thins out of proportion when it comes to their sporting icons – everyone of their sporting personalities find themselves in the midst of a media blitzkrieg and sometimes, it is not what they bargained for. Chris Robshaw, the skipper of the England Rugby side is finding out the hard way what being in the media limelight is all about after being chased by the paparazzi.

The Harlequins FC man has admitted that he has become more cautious, especially in public due to the high level of attention he tends to get from the paparazzi. Earlier this month, the England man was snapped enjoying some time off in Barbados with his girlfriend Camilla Kerslake and he has admitted that being in media glare is taxing, meaning that he does not have a private life anymore and whatever he does will always become front page news.

The England Rugby skipper has sought the advice of former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss and another former skipper of the England Rugby Team in Lawrence Dallagio about how to deal with being in the attention at all times.

According to the 28 year old, being under the media scrutiny 24×7 is not something they welcome or wanted and this has become a noose around his neck and that of his family. He said that he has become cautious about doing anything these days and that is not natural at all.

He mentioned that he has had talks with the likes of Dallagio and Strauss about how to deal with these situations because they faced something similar and came out on the other side and these things are something he doesn’t need in a World Cup year.

Robshaw will lead the England Rugby side on home soil later this year.

Fine form was continued by the Wasps as they arrived at the Ricoh Arena and won over Gloucester in the Aviva Premiership with 32-31.

Despite beating Harlequins, Sale and London Irish they turned back to the Coventry City and claimed maximum points from behind.

After 25 minutes, Gloucester was leading by 10-0 due to penalty made by James Hook yet it was Wasps roaring back with Elliot Dally, Thomas Young and Rob Miller. They were ahead by 17-13. In the second half there were two attempts as well with Young and Guy Thompson scoring from the side of Gloucester and sealed a win which was nine in the Premiership. In the first half the results were looking to be going elsewhere but it was all in the hands of Gloucester who had won seven matches out of 8. Advantage was also built up.

The first penalty was missed by Hook as he was 35 metres far to make a kick. The first attempt was made by the visitors as Mark Atkinson grabbed the ball in the 18th minute. The pass was then towards Moriarty who made an attempt lying in the post. Rhythm of attack was caught by Wasps and then it was time to grab by Young in the 25 metres. Three more attempts could have been scored easily by the Wasps in the 6 minute but it was inefficient on their part.

Before it was time for break, Wasps were clear and went in with positivity. Young scored his second attempt as well. It was strong performance on the part of Wasps as they stretched ahead by which their position was fourth. The lead was by 27-21 as charge was completed by Thompson and they are above Bath with Exeter above them on points levelling.

Aviva Premiership Rugby Football Union club Gloucester Rugby has announced that Dan Murphy and Bill Meakes have signed an extension of their contracts with the club and will remain at Kingsholm for the foreseeable future.

The Cherry and Whites have been making preparations for the new season for quite some time and the news of Meakes and Murphy signing an extension comes as a real boost for them.

Seven members of the squad apart from these two have already signed new contracts with the club for the new season and they will be joined by Jeremy Thrush and Tom Marshall have been signed for the new season from New Zealand Super Rugby sides the Hurricanes and Chiefs respectively.

Meakes was a non-contracted player with Gloucester Rugby only a year ago with the club down on numbers ahead of the LV=Cup due to injuries and international call-ups. He showed enough promise for the club to give him an Academy contract and this renewal shows just how good he has been for the club when called upon.

Unlike Meakes, however, Murphy has been a part of the club for four years now having signed from London Irish. He has been a regular in the team but has been sidelined for some time due to injury. He is expected to make a return to action soon enough.

David Humphreys, the Director of Rugby at the club said that it is great news that the two have signed extensions with the club. He added that the two of them are highly respected in the squad and very hard working and have always come in and done a job as and when required by Gloucester Rugby.

Humphreys said that it is important to have depth in the squad as they look to make an assualt on trophies next season.

David Halaifonua has always been the target of Gloucester which had been trying to sign the Tongan Winger for a very long time. Since the month of September, Gloucester was trying to make a deal with Halaifonua. However, Gloucester was unsuccessful due to the contract that the Tongan winger had signed with Bergerac.

Now this hurdle in the form of the existing contract with Bergerac has been dealt with and David Halaifonua is going to be a part of Gloucester after his visa is approved.

In the month of November, David Halaifonua played for the Tonga national rugby team against USA and performed exceptionally well at Kingsholm.

International teammates namely- Sila Puafisi, Aleki Lutui and Sione Kalamafoni are going to be joined by David Halaifonua. Halaifonua is replacing Tom Isaacs who is going to be a part of Cardiff Blues. This addition to Gloucester has also been made possible because James Simpson-Daniel retired.

David Humphrey (Director of Rugby for Gloucester) is of the opinion that David Halaifonua is going to bring in something unique and different to the Gloucester rugby team. Gloucester team has been keeping an eye on Halaifonua and has also seen him play for Tonga national rugby team in November.

The team is eagerly waiting to welcome Halaifonua and excited to see how he can contribute to the team this season. Since Halaifonua was offered a contract for one-year previously, it is probable that he has got the same contract this time as well.

David Halaifonua is really elated to be a part of Gloucester because he is getting a chance to play with the international teammates. Along with that, he said that he is ready to accept the challenge of playing against some of the most well-known rugby teams.

Attack and backs coach, Nick Walshe is also pleased with the deal with David Halaifonua.

Gloucester hero Hook (James) is gearing up hard to lock horns with big rival Cipriani (Danny). The Wales man would don the #10 jersey to help out his club on the fight against the Sale Sharks.
Both the sides lost out on their inaugural Premiership encounters, Cherry & Whites by record margin & are naturally determined to regain the usual glory at Kingsholm.The interesting bit of the upcoming fight is surely the mouth-watering tiff between two among the most stellar talents across the game.
“Danny’s is no doubt a high quality player & when he is in full form the whole team starts playing well”, stated Hook. The Gloucester man has always been extremely respectful to his top rival.
“There’re amazing challenges out there & it feels great to play against luminary players such as George North with whom I played the previous week- that is one among the reasons for me to be here. But Danny & me are very similar the very way we bring guys in to game with us. Danny takes ball to line & he has got fantastic skills, pace & feet. He loves to take the players on. However, we are aware of his threats & we would be on the lookout for Danny.”

The Gloucester man admitted that magnitude of their defeat was quite shocking to everybody yet he also insisted that Cherry & Whites would soon come out with aplomb at Kingsholm.
“We need to come up with something against Sharks now. Sale are fantastic when it comes to defence. They are backed some really great players, especially at 9 (Chris Cusiter) & ten (Cipriani) with strong attacking threats yet we are well aware of the team & absolutely ready to take on the challenge”, Hook added in.