GLORIOUS GLOUCESTER

Welcome back, Gloucester. The West Country club’s remarkable Champions Cup win over Exeter at Sandy Park — where most visitors go to take their medicine — had all the hallmarks of a watershed result. It was the victory which confirmed that the side revitalised by Johan Ackermann’s impact as head coach have become bona fide contenders again. Their exploits blew a gaping hole in this column’s claim last week that a SaracensExeter Premiership final is an inevitability. The Cherry and White rise owes much this season to Ben Morgan’s return to his marauding prime at No 8, alongside the emergence of fellow back-row bull Jake Polledri, along with the arrival of Danny Cipriani, the scorching threat from Ollie Thorley and the strong South African contingent. Gloucester’s pack is hard and horrible again. All is right in the world.