Gloucester 2022-23 season preview - prediction, signings, ones to watch
George Skivington and Gloucester will be hoping to build on the strides they made last term
©Martin Bennett/Gloucester Rugby
Will this be the season the Kingsholm faithful finally see their Cherry and Whites back in the top four?
George Skivington has brought Gloucester’s mojo back and they will be looking to go one further than their fifth-place finish of last season.
It has been a quiet summer for the West Country outfit with very few ins and outs, which could be a blessing for a side that has had its ups and downs over the last decade.
With the sad news of Ed Slater’s retirement due to a motor neurone disease diagnosis in July, Gloucester may have extra motivation this season to win something for their teammate and friend.
Last time out
Last term, Gloucester narrowly missed out on a top four place by just two points to Northampton Saints.
It was a campaign of huge change and strides forward for one of the Premiership’s sleeping giants.
The famous Shed enjoyed great high points including a record victory against neighbours and rivals Bath.
Ultimately though, losses to Bristol Bears and Harlequins in their last four games cost them a position in the top four but considering they finished in 11th place the season prior, the Cherry and Whites fans were happy with the year and the performances Skivington’s men put in.
Going into the new campaign, Gloucester will be looking to improve their away form as six of their 10 losses in 2021-22 came on their travels.
If they can turn a few of those results into wins, they should be near the top four picture once again.
Incomings:
Albert Tuisue (Back Row) from London Irish
Outgoings:
Will Britton (Second Row) to Cornish Pirates
Toby Venner (Scrum-half) to Jersey Reds
Jason Woodward (Full-back) to Sale Sharks
Seb Nagle-Taylor (Back Row) to Cornish Pirates
Joe Simpson (Scrum-half) to Sale Sharks
Olly Adkins (Loosehead Prop) to Cornish Pirates on a season-long loan
Josh Gray (Back Row) to Jersey Reds on a season-long loan
Jack Stanley (Tighthead Prop) released
Ed Slater (Second Row) retired
Areas of strength
One of Gloucester’s biggest strengths last season was their formidable driving maul.
By January, they had already scored 14 tries using this tactic and made a league high of 374 metres gained.
This is a huge asset for Skivington’s men who know they will have the resources to replicate the same sort of numbers this time out.
One massive area of strength for the Cherry and Whites is their back-row options.
With the addition of Albert Tuisue from London Irish, the Gloucester back-row looks strong with Jake Polledri also returning from a long-term injury.
They also have 6’4” Ruan Ackermann who started 21 of the 22 Premiership games in the last campaign.
Despite Skivington bringing a power game with great emphasise on the dominance of his pack, Gloucester still have one of the paciest backlines in the Premiership.
With the likes of Louis Rees-Zammit, Jonny May, Ollie Thorley and Santiago Carreras to choose from, the West Country side will be a massive threat in open field and on unstructured play.
Adam Hastings, who has now settled in at Gloucester, will be hoping to unleash these flyers this season.
Areas of weakness
In terms of playing personnel, Gloucester have not made too many changes during the off-season and this has meant their squad is quite settled and there aren’t many holes in it.
One area that might be a cause for concern though is the full-back position.
Kyle Moyle is the only out-and-out full-back available to Skivington but Carreras and Thorley have both played there in the past.
Gloucester will be hoping that the aforementioned duo don’t pick up long-term injuries or they will have a problem.
Although Skivington has received a lot of praise over the last year for how he has turned around this Gloucester team, one negative might be that he doesn’t have the experience as a coach of getting a team into the top four or playing in big semi-finals.
This is, of course, nick-picking and most experts will say he has all the qualities to achieve this in the future, if not this year.
Opening fixtures
Round 1: Wasps (H)
Round 2: Saracens (A)
Round 3: Worcester Warriors (H)
Round 4: Bath Rugby (A)
Round 5: Bristol Bears (H)
The Cherry and Whites start their season in front of the Kingsholm faithful against Wasps.
The next fixture away to Saracens will be a huge early test for Skivington’s men who will have to be on the top of their game to get anything from that match.
Gloucester end their opening five fixtures with two massive local derbies against Bath and Bristol Bears, where early season bragging rights will be up for grabs.
Predicted line-up:
1. Val Rapava Ruskin
2. Jack Singleton
3. Kirill Gotovtsev
4. Freddie Clarke
5. Matias Alemanno
6. Jordy Reid
7. Lewis Ludlow
8. Albert Tuisue
9. Ben Meehan
10. Adam Hastings
11. Jonny May
12. Mark Atkinson
13. Chris Harris
14. Louis Rees-Zammit
15. Santiago Carreras
Predicted finish: 4th
I believe this will be the season Gloucester finally make it back into the top four.
With such a settled squad that hasn’t lost much this off-season, I think they will continue where they left off last year with a formidable pack and a lighting quick backline which will hurt teams across the Premiership.
2021-22’s pain in missing out on the play-offs will have been a good learning curve for Skivington and he will be better prepared this time out.
With the addition of Tuisue, they have one of the best back-rowers around and he will be a menace in both attack and defence.
All these factors for me point to an improvement on last season for the Cherry and Whites.
