New boys make their mark in Ulster victory

GLOUCESTER’S pre-season friendly win over Ulster was a first chance to see four of the new signings in action for the club.

South Africans Gerbrandt Grobler and Franco Marais, ex-england international Matt Banahan and former London Irish hooker Todd Gleave all made their debuts for the Cherry and Whites in a 29-17 victory at the Kingspan Stadium.

There were also first senior appearances for academy players Alex Seville and Jack Reeves.

Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann said: “Individuals like Franco Marais and Gerbrandt Grobler and a lot of the new guys and even the youngsters, the front row, all those guys can be satisfied with their start.”

Here is our assessment of how the Gloucester new boys got on.

» Gerbrandt Grobler

A strong showing from Gloucester’s imposing new lock.

Grobler, pictured above, put in his bread and butter work in the lineout well as you would expect and offers plenty of grunt but also showed a cute side of his game with some good handling skills, making a wonderful backhanded offload during one nice Gloucester attack.

The cherry on the cake was the try, where he was in the right place at the time to finish off from close range.

Grobler looks set to be a key player for Gloucester, especially with new signing Franco Mostert on international duty with South Africa until October.

» Jack Reeves

The selection of the 18-year-old, who has only just stepped up to the senior academy, shows how highly though of he is.

Reeves showed some good defensive qualities, making one strong tackle early on that forced a knock-on, although he was given an indication in the step up when he was shrugged off by

Nick Timoney for Ulster’s second try.

He showed glimpses of his potential when he did get the ball in hand and was involved in some nice Gloucester moves.

Ackermann said: “Jack grabbed his opportunity in pre-season. Jack showed he’s hungry to succeed and we just felt instead of waiting, just put him in there, that’s the only way you learn.

“He made a mistake, he’s going to get a better player and now he’s got a benchmark for himself to see where he can improve, see where his strengths are.”

It may be too early for Reeves to start in the Premiership but he is definitely one to watch and it would not be a surprise to see him given a run in the Premiership Rugby Cup next season.

» Alex Seville

Having played in two World Rugby U20 Championships for England, Seville is already gaining a reputation as a strong scrummager. Gloucester were strong up front throughout against Ulster and Seville certainly played his part in a young front row alongside Ciaran Knight and Henry Walker in the first half. He did pick up a shoulder injury so it will be hoped that is nothing to worry about. Seville only turned 20 last month so might have to wait for more chances but certainly looks like a bright prospect.

» Franco Marais

It was a solid showing for the South African hooker, who had less than 30 minutes on the fild.

Marais was abrasive, strong in the set piece and came up with some big tackles when Gloucester were put under some pressure by Ulster.

He will be judged more when he gets more minutes under his belt but will be expected to push James Hanson for the hooker starting spot on the opening day of the season.

» Matt Banahan

The new arrival from Bath made an impact. Banahan, pictured below, displayed his commitment - and this in a fairly meaningless pre-season affair - when he ran from one side of the pitch to the other to cover, thwarting one promising looking Ulster attack.

He also led a good counter-attack, linking well with Jason Woodward to set the full-back away but Banahan and Purdy got in each other’s way at the end as the try-scoring chance was lost. The signing of Banahan looks like an excellent piece of business already.

» Todd Gleave

His name might not be as familiar as the other new Gloucester signings but it was a nice moment for Gleave when he scored Gloucester’s fourth try from a powerful rolling maul towards the end. The new signing from London Irish was only on the pitch for the final 12 minutes as the third hooker to be used. Gleave’s lineout throwing was sound and he made one strong carry but would’ve been disappointed with one missed tackle that saw him beaten too easily.