Fans are right, they deserve a lot more, says Billy

BILLY Twelvetrees reckons his burgeoning midfield partnership with Matt Scott can help Gloucester get the Kingsholm faithful back onside.

Gloucester were heckled by disgruntled fans following last week’s home defeat to Newcastle, but Twelvetrees remains resolute about their play-off chances as his combination with Scott continues to evolve.

He said: “I’ve no problem with our crowd. They expect performances and when we let them down there are repercussions.

“The real frustration is when we put in lacklustre performance because it’s not what we’re about, nor does it do any of us justice.

“We know we have a good squad and if we’d beaten Leicester and Newcastle, as we should have, we’d have been in the top four.”

He added: “Bringing someone like Matt Scott into our squad has been good for our depth and he’s brought something different.

“He’s a strong ball carrier with an eye for the try-line who takes people on and is a good defender as well. He’s a very calm head with good international experience, so it’s been great having him here and he’s started really well.

“Tim Taylor’s been brilliant as our new attack coach and it’s all about executing our skills at high intensity. If we do that we’ll put a lot of teams to bed and we know there’s a winning formula that can get us into the play-offs.”

England’s selectors have given Kingsholm the cold shoulder, with last week’s game against Newcastle the only one of six not to have had a presence.

Twelvetrees, 27, last featured in a Red Rose jersey in August 2015 but still allows himself to dream of a recall to national service.

He said: “You never give up and I’ve got the same drive I had when I was an 18-year-old.

“I still believe I can pull on an England shirt again, but you’re a product of your own destiny and we need success here first.

“You can’t worry about who selectors are watching, if we get into the top four we’ll get recognition off the back of that.”