Thrush confident Cherries will be in title mix

KIWI general Jeremy Thrush reckons Gloucester are on course for a first Premiership title by following the development path of Southern Hemisphere champions Hurricanes.

Thrush, below, identifies similarities between the Cherry & Whites and his former team in Wellington, who ended years of hurt last summer by winning the Super Rugby final.

Former All Black lock Thrush said: “People want success quick but we’re getting into a good place and building a competitive environment here.

“If you look at the way the Hurricanes built over three or four years before finally cracking Super Rugby, there are lots of similarities with what they did and what we’re doing now.

“At the Hurricanes we had a young group that took a while to understand what being professional was about, but once we’d built that and grown with each other we became a hard side to play against.

“It’s like that at Gloucester and over the last couple of months we’ve taken huge steps forward in how we go about our training weeks and professionalism. That’s showing through on the field where we feel we’re ready to challenge.”

Gloucester have work to do this season but Thrush, who has another year on his Kingsholm contract after joining in 2015, is focussed on creating a winning legacy.

Thrush said: “When you see how successful other Kiwi guys like Nick Evans and Jimmy Gopperth have been up here, that’s something I’d like to emulate.

“I want to achieve similar by winning a few trophies and making Gloucester fans happy.

“I’m only 31, which is nothing compared to Brad Thorn who played into his forties. I’ve got another year on my contract and I’m enjoying myself here.”