Youngsters will learn a lot from Lyon game: head coach Skivington
GEORGE Skivington might not like it but his Gloucester Rugby side got what they were set up for on Sunday – a record European defeat, 55-10 at the hands of Lyon.
There is no one denying Gloucester have not been dealt a cruel hand of late when it comes to injuries, but Skivington’s decision to rest the majority of the fit senior players he did have available – the likes of Ollie Thorley, Mark Atkinson, Jonny May, Louis Rees-zammit, Jack Singleton, Ed Slater and Ruan Ackermann, among others – effectively means the Cherry and Whites’ Heineken Champions Cup campaign is over after the first round in this new format which sees clubs play four pool stage games instead of the normal six.
Three wins might earn you a place in the quarter-finals, with four clubs advancing from the group of 12 teams in Pool B, but Sunday’s largely one-way procession leaves Gloucester considerable underdogs and without any margin of error with Ulster heading to Kingsholm this weekend.
Lyon, who had won their last seven league games on the bounce coming into this match, including victories over Toulouse and La Rochelle, ran in eight tries through Xavier Mignot (3), Noa Nakaitaci, Izack Rodda, Mathieu Bastareaud, Charlie Ngatai, Dylan Cretin.
Gloucester scored one try at the Stade de Gerland through debutant Seb Nagle-taylor, while England Under-20s fly-half George Barton finished with five points from the tee.
The two were Gloucester’s only players to finish the afternoon with their reputations enhanced.
Skivington said: “It is tough to swallow the result; we let in more tries than we wanted to.
“We were hoping for a bit more consistency from the young lads, but we threw the lads in today and they will be better for it down the line, as hard as it is to swallow. They have learnt a lot about playing top flight rugby, particularly European rugby where you can’t dip in and out of the game – you have to stay in the game all the time.
Skivington said: “We’ve got back-toback games for 20-odd weeks now. We can roll the same boys out week after week, but eventually it’ll catch us out,”
“We’ve got the injuries and so thought best to put the young guys out. I thought some of them showed real quality and some showed they had a long way to go. We learn, they learn, we move forward.”
He continued: “I thought there were a few guys who stepped up, like George Barton. He worked extremely hard on and off the ball in his moments in the game, chasing back really hard.
“Seb Nagle-taylor had a first hit out in the top league as well.”
Looking ahead to Ulster this coming weekend, Skivington is aware his side have another stern test on their hands, despite their opponents losing 29-22 against Toulouse on Friday night.
He said: “Ulster are another top team in their league. They had a great season last season. They lost last weekend, so they will be hurting from that, and it will be another really tough challenge.”