Gloucester draw swords with the Saints

The Saints will cross swords with the Cherry & Whites at Franklin’s Gardens in their season opener and the visitors, especially, will be hungry for a much-improved performance from last year after having finished second-last on the overall standings with just seven victories from 22 outings. 

Saints finished 5th on the standings and, at one point in the season, had a real shot at the play-offs but fell away as fourth-placed Harlequins built a substantial lead on them in the end. They posted 9 victories from their 22 fixtures – a stat they should improve with the squad of players at their disposal. 

The rivalry last season was evenly shared, with both grabbing a win away from home. The first clash was at Kingsholm where Saints stole the game 31-26. 

Gloucester took revenge in the return fixture at Franklin’s Gardens, however: 

Gloucester boss George Skivington seems upbeat about his team’s prospects this season. 

“We’re in a good spot and everyone’s ready to get into the season now," he said. 

"There’s only so long that you can do pre-season for and I’m happy with our prep. 

“We’ve managed to blend the senior and the young players nicely. 

"The young players have had a lot of game time this pre-season which is really important for where we are going as a club and I thought, particularly last Saturday, some of the young guys really stood up and showed what they learned in the last two games. 

“The boys have been outstanding and have worked really hard.” 

Skivington was complimentary of Saints. 

“Saints are a good team. They’re four or five years into their journey with their group and their coaching team. 

"They were knocking on the door of the top four last year. 

"They play some great running rugby and they’ve got a good physical pack and they can open teams up. They did that against Ospreys last weekend. 

“They’ve got a couple of good new signings who look to be really sharp and like they’ll fit the Premiership well so it’s a slightly different challenge from last year. 

"They’ve been building nicely for a few years and I respect that.” 

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