Right decision to let Danny go and trust youngsters
SOMETIMES a result can mean more than just the points won - and the result against Ulster is just that.
You could see at the end of the game what it meant to the players and coaches.
Leading up to the game there was a lot of attention on Gloucester mainly due to the departure of Danny Cipriani.
In recent weeks, he had not been playing and there was much speculation about his future, which is destabilising for players and coaches.
Such is the attention with whatever Cipriani does on and off the field like no other player.
The decision to part company I think was the right decision. It was time to move on.
Up stepped Lloyd Evans, who over recent seasons I have mentioned should play a bigger part in Gloucester’s plans moving forward.
He has been patient and seen 10s come and go without getting a longterm stint in the team.
Head coach George Skivington has thrusted Evans into the limelight, showing great faith in the ex-dean Close School boy, and he has not let him down.
In this victory over Ulster the young half -backs played a pivotal role.
Scrum-half Charlie Chapman, another young player finding his way in the game and a product of Matson, then another Old Decanian George Barton came off the bench to secure a famous win with a well taken try.
George is a product of Longlevens.
Can you spot the trend here?
Local community players getting a chance to establish themselves as players in the senior Glouces
ter squad.
I hope now they and the other young hungry players in the squad will be given significant game time to gain that much needed experience, and confidence.
They will then have a mindset of belonging, which is critical as they will feel relaxed and help their development.
As a young player trying to establish myself in a Gloucester squad that was in a transitional state was sometimes difficult, senior players at times made it clear that I would have to go some to get into a side that had been underperforming.
It could have gone two ways give in and doubt yourself or prove the doubters wrong.
I was desperate to pull on a Gloucester shirt in a big game with a packedout Kingsholm watching, which I achieved; the feeling of pride and satisfaction was incredible.
The youngsters who are now getting their chance must not rest on what they have achieved thus far as they have so much more to learn and give.
When the training hurts or their form dips they must always remember the nights like they had against Ulster, and replicate it.
Gloucester did some great business in the transfer market signing on loan hooker Jack Singleton on a permanent deal, which is a great signing, excellent key skills, and a player you can build a side around.
Georgian international centre Giorgi Kveseladze also put pen to player and the 23-year-old will be very coachable and will be desperate to make an impression in the premiership which is a great mix.
Lastly Scottish international fly half Adam Hastings will be joining the club next season.
He has grown into an international player and will push Evans and Barton all the way in the 10 shirt.
All the signings are of young hungry players who will bring enthusiasm, drive and crucially ambition.
George Skivington has not had it easy at Gloucester so far, but with this win, the youngsters in the squad stepping up, senior players coming back in to form, and returning from injury, plus the new signings it feels as though Gloucester have turned a little corner.
The key now is to maintain the momentum, which will be crucial.