Barton tied down to new contract
GLOUCESTER have locked down young fly-half George Barton to a contract extension with his hometown club.
A product of Longlevens RFC, Barton joined the Gloucester academy in 2014 and has developed through the pathway and into the first team.
Barton scored the most points in a Premiership Rugby U18 Academy League in the 2017/18 season and has also represented England at Under-18 and Under-20 level.
Cheltenham-born Barton has made 14 appearances in the Premiership for the club, including coming off the bench early in the match against Newcastle to make an eye-catching cameo, and has featured for the Cherry and Whites in the Heineken Champions Cup.
This season he has also been running out for Championship side Hartpury to gain first team rugby.
With centre Billy Twelvetrees now 34, Barton is a big part of head coach George Skivington’s plans moving forward as in the immediate future he competes with Lloyd Evans for the back-up fly-half berth behind Scottish international Adam Hastings.
Chief operating officer Alex Brown said: “We pride ourselves on developing local talent and giving Gloucester born and bred players the chance to represent their city.
“George has been in the set-up since 2014 and we have already seen him mature into a fantastic player and person.
“At 21, he’s an extremely important part of the squad here at Kingsholm, but he’s got a massive amount of potential and that excites us.
“We’re really glad George has signed on to stay here at Gloucester and we look forward to continuing to see him develop.”