GLOUCESTER
Head of Rugby: George Skivington
Captain: Lewis Ludlow
Ground: Kingsholm
Capacity: 16,115
The serial under-achievers in the Premiership, Gloucester have finished in the top half of the Premiership just once in the last nine seasons, although they won the European Challenge Cup in 2015. George Skivington and his new management team had a tough start after taking over during the first lockdown and having to develop squad harmony during a time when socialising was prohibited. There were signs of what he is striving for, most notably at Northampton at the end of last season - their opening fixture on Saturday - when forwards and backs combined to effectively end the Saints’ play-off hopes, but the rampant inconsistency that had bedevilled a club that could blow hot and cold in the same movement remained.
The Scotland outside-half
Adam Hastings is Skivington’s major signing. The deal was completed in the early part of last season and Gloucester could have done with him then after Danny Cipriani ended his contract with the club early to take a break from the game. Hastings should keep the temperature lower in a side that has a tendency to overheat and there are few more dangerous back threes to exploit with Jonny May, Louis-Rees Zammit, Ollie Thorley, Santiago Carreras and Jason Woodward to choose from, but it is up front where Gloucester need to show more. They have recruited Russia’s tighthead prop Kirill Gotovstev, who started their four matches in the 2019 World Cup, the former Newcastle second row Andrew Davison and the Namibia back rower Wuan Conradie. The pack should not be too disrupted by international calls and they will need to exploit that.