Gutted George is left ‘sick’ after last-gasp defeat
GLOUCESTER head coach George Skivington cut a heartbroken figure following his side’s last gasp 41-39 defeat to Saracens at the Stonex Stadium on Saturday.
Skivington is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve and after the final whistle the emotion was written across his face, his side having gone so close to recording back-to-back wins.
The Cherry and Whites held a 12-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes, but Saracens’ replacement hooker Tom Woolstencroft finished two tries from line-out drives to settle an enthralling game.
With the clock in the red, the scores were locked at 39-39 and Owen Farrell was standing over the ball five metres in from touch, going through his familiar dead eye visualisation process. With all the pressure on his shoulders, and despite a spirited charge-down attempt by the entire Gloucester side, the England star dissected the uprights to send the majority of the stadium into raptures.
Skivington said: “I’m disappointed and gutted. There’s no point pretending you don’t feel a bit sick after that one.
“I just knew he (Farrell) was gonna kick it. I packed my bags at that point.”
The contest was the Cherry and Whites’ to lose, with Val Rapavaruskin’s brace and scores from Adam Hastings, Albert Tuisue and Chris Harris, alongside some stellar goalkicking from Hastings, giving the visitors a 16-point lead with 20 minutes remaining.
Saracens got on the board themselves through Farrell’s boot and the tries of Max Malins, Ben Earl, Josh Hallett and the match-winning double from Woolstencroft.
Skivington continued: “We tried not to play too much rugby, took the wrong options, got turned over, got penalised.
“We just didn’t close out those last 15 minutes. There was a maul where we spilt the ball, slapped a box kick back, but Owen Farrell got it.
“I think we played a little bit safe, and allowed Ben Earl to get a couple of turnovers at the end.
“There were two kicks to touch and two tries for them, which was disappointing because we’d kept their maul out all day.
“We were maybe a little desperate to hold onto the lead rather than play it out.”
With yet another harrowing loss in the books for the visitors in which a lead has failed to be maintained, Skivington spoke frankly about what needed to be done to close out results in the future.
He said: “We are building up these sort of experiences, with Quins away at Twickenham, Sarries in the quarter final (Challenge Cup) last year.
“We were good enough to win that game today, and there’s probably a step we’ve gotta take.
“It’s not a surprise to me that the lads can do that, but we probably just need to do that for 80 minutes.
“The overall positive for me is that if there wasn’t any more we could’ve done I’d be hurting, but there’s loads we can do better.”
The battle in North London was not without casualty, with multiple losses from both sides to show what a physical contest took place.
“We lost a couple early, Harry [Elrington] and Thorlo [Ollie Thorley] within that first 15, and Harry Taylor had to come off as well, so that’s not ideal, but I’m not sure on the degree of the injuries.
“It was a war of attrition; we lost a few, they lost a few, but I’m not sure the extent of them yet.”
Saracens: Daly; Malins, Lozowski, Taylor, Lewington; Farrell, van Zyl; Mako Vunipola, George, Judge, Mcfarland, Tizard, Christie, Earl, Billy Vunipola. Replacements: Woolstencroft, Mawi, Clarey, Hunter-hill, Wray, de Haas, Manu Vunipola, Hallett.
Gloucester: Evans; Rees-zammit, Harris, Atkinson, Thorley; Hastings, Meehan; Elrington, Singleton, Balmain, Clarke, Craig, Ackermann, Taylor, Tuisue. Replacements: Socino, Rapavaruskin, Ford-robinson, Jordan, Reid, Chapman, Twelvetrees, Moyle.