George Skivington is hoping his “wounded” Gloucester side can give the Kingsholm faithful something to cheer against high-flying Sale Sharks on Saturday.
The clash is Gloucester’s last home game of the season, and the Cherry and Whites will be looking to claim the win after their play-off hopes were ended by a loss to Bath last weekend.
Tough task
The coach is under no illusions about the challenge ahead but insists his team will be ready for the occasion at Kingsholm.
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“Sale are second in the league for a reason, they’ve had an outstanding season,” he said.
“They have strength across the board, big men in the pack, George Ford coming back in, so they’re peaking at the right time, and they looked really good against Bristol last week.
“It’s a massive challenge but it’s exciting for us. We were wounded by Friday night, so we’ll work hard this week to get ready for it.”
Reflecting on the loss to Bath, Skivington pinpointed the set-piece as the main cause for concern.
“It was disappointing, you don’t want to lose a derby and there was a lot of emotion around that in the week and with a few results recently we wanted to make a mark in that game,” he explained.
“But in the end, our set-piece wasn’t good enough, Bath did well in that area and from that point of view, they got on top.
“We pride ourselves in our set-piece and we have got a lot of results from that in the past two years so that’s a rare game we got outdone, which led to pressure, which led to penalties.”
Skivington commended his players on their response to the loss and how they are looking to make a difference against Sale.
“Adversity is a part of sport and sometimes things don’t go your way, but you have to try and keep moving forward and keep getting better and the boys are brilliant at that,” he said.
“The boys are not feeling sorry for themselves they’re concentrating on how they can get better and make sure we’re on it for Sale.”
A goodbye
The game will be a massive occasion for Billy Twelvetrees who will run out for his last match for Gloucester after over a decade with the Premiership side.
“Billy is such a quality individual as a bloke and as a rugby player. He sets the standards day to day,” said Skivington.
“I’ve known Billy personally for a very long time and I’ve got all the time in the world for him.
“He’s been outstanding at the tail end of this season when we’ve needed him to step up and he’ll be sorely missed.
“They’ve given a lot for everybody who comes to the games, and the fans have given a lot to those individuals too, so it will be a nice way to send them off on Saturday.”