Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Barton set for a first start
GEORGE Barton will make his first Gallagher Premiership start at fly-half when Gloucester Rugby travel to the Ricoh Arena to face Wasps today.
Chris Harris returns from Scotland duty to link up with Billy Twelvetrees in midfield, with Ollie Thorley, Santiago Carreras and Kyle Moyle in the back three. Willi Heinz keeps the scrum-half shirt and completes the back line.
In the forwards, Santiago Socino makes his first start for the club at hooker, with Alex Seville and Fraser Balmain alongside him. Ed Slater and Mattias Alemanno continue at lock, with the tried and tested back row of Jordy Reid, Ruan Ackermann and skipper Lewis Ludlow behind them.
Head coach George Skivington is more than aware of the challenge his squad faces.
He said: “Wasps have had varied form this season, but they’re a quality side. They were in the final last season and they play some great rugby, so they’re more than capable.
“We’ve got full respect for them and we’ve done our homework, but we’ve got so much we can improve upon as a group that the focus is on us as it has been the last few weeks.”
There is no place for Wasps’ England man Paolo Odogwu, who is now approaching 50 days without a game. Gloucester Rugby: K Moyle; S Carreras, C Harris, B Twelvetrees, O Thorley; G Barton, W Heinz; A Seville, S Socino, F Balmain, E Slater, M Alemanno, J Reid, L Ludlow (capt), R Ackermann. Replacements: H Walker, J Ford-Robinson, J Stanley, A Craig, J Clement, C Chapman, T Seabrook, C Sharples.
JOEY Barton has promoted youngsters Zain Walker and Pablo Martinez to the Bristol Rovers first-team squad.
Dynamic forward Walker, 19, and 20-year-old defender Martinez caught the eye in the Pirates’ 2-1 under-23s friendly triumph over Bournemouth on Wednesday.
Barton and his backroom staff watched the game from the sidelines at Melksham, with Walker netting the equaliser before Josh Hare struck the winner from the penalty spot.
And the manager believes that the youngsters are worthy a place training alongside the first-team at The Quarters.
“We had a reserve game on
Wednesday and young Zain Walker and Pablo Martinez, who I’d not seen before or weren’t training with the first team, impressed me, so we’ve brought them across to the first-team group,” Barton said.
“Obviously Zain was there before. Pablo, we’ve only just discovered, so we’re still on a journey of discovery throughout the club.”
Walker was a part of Ben Garner’s squad at the start of the season, and he rewarded the academy graduate with two new contracts either side of pre-season, such was the impression he made in that period. He has made three substitute appearances in the league for the club, the last of which came in December, but he had not been training with the first team since Barton’s arrival.
Martinez, meanwhile, joined the
Pirates’ development squad in the summer on a free transfer from West Bromwich Albion before joining National League South side Oxford City on loan.
He made nine appearances for the sixth-tier side before their season was curtailed by the pandemic last month, and now he will get a crack in the first team setup.
“(I liked) their energy, endeavour, reactions to the flow of the game, their body language,” Barton said when asked how the duo impressed him. “I said to the boys during the game this might be the last chance I get my eyeballs on you. I can’t send people into battle who are not quite 100 per cent.
“I thought Zain did superbly. He worked really hard and there was some good performances in there. It did give me a bit more clarity on the guys who haven’t been playing on a matchday for us, which was the whole purpose of the game.
“For me, at this point in time, it’s about gathering information. Not other people’s information, but my own, and the only way you can do it is by watching games and sessions.”
Rovers, who are just one point above the League One drop zone, have a tough-looking match today, with a trip to second-placed Hull City on the agenda.
Rovers’ fellow Sky Bet League One strugglers Swindon are also on the road this afternoon, in their case at an Accrington Stanley side who are just outside the play-off positions, but not in form at the moment.
The Wiltshire Robins went down 1-0 at Sunderland on Tuesday.