Result raises ‘red flag’ over squad depth
GEORGE Skivington said Gloucester’s ‘embarrassing’ 90-0 defeat to Northampton Saints on Saturday has raised a ‘red flag’ about the quality of depth in his squad heading into the 2024/25 season - albeit with the club financially hamstrung to make many more big moves in the transfer market as it pays back Covid loan debts.
The Cherry and Whites director of rugby made 12 changes to the starting XV that faced Benetton a week earlier in the Challenge Cup semi-final win, but they still had a sprinkling of internationals in the side, including Lewis Ludlow, Stephen Varney, Albert Tuisue and Mayco Vivas, alongside players with bright futures like Josh Hathaway, Charlie Atkinson and Jack Clement.
Skivington said he didn’t feel let down by the players and would not be pointing fingers at individuals, but the director of rugby admitted: “I think the team we fielded was miles better than getting a hiding like we did.
“So I can’t make any excuses around the scoreline or the performance and nor will I. From that point of view we’ve got a bit of work to do. I think that probably is a red flag for maybe a bit of strength in depth and things like that we’ve got to work.”
Gloucester have signed experienced Welsh international duo Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe at half-back ahead of next season, with Christian Wade coming in on the wing, but leaving the club is Scottish international fly-half Adam Hastings, England’s second-all-time highest try scorer Jonny May, while Louis Rees-zammit departed in January to pursue a career in the NFL, meaning the club’s quality in depth looks set to remain at a similar level to the current squad. Skivington’s thoughts were echoed by his boss, Gloucester CEO Alex Brown who said: “The first 15 on paper are a competitive team, the team underneath that we need to address that and look at that over the course of the off season and see if we can improve that because it’s clearly a squad effort.
“Over the course of a long season you’ve got three competitions, you’ve got to have a squad that can compete.”
Skivington added: “Ultimately no English team is battling on more than one front at the back end of this season so you do have to pick your battles which again is what we’ve done.”
Looking ahead to this weekend, Skivington admitted Newcastle will be sensing blood heading into Saturday’s final Gallagher Premiership game of the season at Kingsholm, with Steve Diamond’s winless side desperate to earn their first league win of the season to avoid the ignominy of finishing with one of of the worst records in history.
Skivington said: “I think in their shoes, it’s their last game of the season, they definitely want to win one before the season’s out.
“We’re just above them in the table, so for sure, they’ll think we’re a target and I think we’re aware of that.
“Newcastle give everybody a tough game. They might not have got across the line but they’ve given lots of teams tough, tough games and we had a tough game with them up at their place earlier in the year.
“We’re definitely not underestimating that. We’ve got a few sore people in the building for sure so I think it’ll be a good game but from our point of view we’re looking forward to our last game at Kingsholm.
“There’s some players moving on, this is their last game at the club, so our focus is very much on doing a good job on the weekend.”