Gloucester Director of Rugby George Skivington hopes his team can use the new ‘buoyancy’ from their Premiership Cup win to carry them through the last block of domestic games.
The Cherry and Whites secured their first trophy since 2015 last weekend as they beat Leicester Tigers 23-13 at a packed out Kingsholm, and Skivington detailed his hope of carrying this success into the rest of their Premiership campaign.
“I think we can use the positive energy,” he told Rugby Nause News.
“It’s probably a bigger picture piece for me as to when we did sit down and press the reset button and focus in. The important bit was we got to a final and we won the final; in the back of my mind, that was really important. If we got to the final and lost, it would have been gutting.”
He also highlighted the pressure there was on his side to win the final: “I think there was a lot of pressure on us, it was at Kingsholm and we knew the club hadn’t won any trophies for nine years, so there was a huge amount of pressure on the group to deliver that trophy.”
Whilst Gloucester still sit 9th in the table, there have been improvements in the levels of performance. They won three on the spin going into the break, and also won the Premiership Cup semi-final against Exeter before going onto beat Leicester in the final.
These recent run of win have left Skivington feeling optimistic about where his side are as they approach the final six games of the season.
“I think the last period has shown us that if we stick to our game plan, we can win games. We’re certainly in the picture to win games. I think there’s a real buoyancy after winning the trophy, but I think this group has been pretty buoyant for a couple of months and has really stood up for some challenging times and tried to push on.”
George Skivington on squad fitness ahead of the run-in
Whilst the Cherry and Whites will be hoping to make a late charge into the top eight, they will have to do so without star hooker George McGuigan.
McGuigan was carried off the pitch during the final, and Skivington has now confirmed the former Newcastle and Leicester man will undergo surgery.
“He’s had to have surgery on his leg, so he will be out for a couple of months at least; that’s probably his season over. It’s really unfortunate for George because he’s been one of our best players for the last couple of months and I think he found his groove in a Gloucester jersey and found his place in the team.”
Another player who picked up a knock in the Cup was skipper Lewis Ludlow, with Skivington confirming he could be out for a couple of weeks.
“It’s not catastrophic for him or anything like that, but it’ll be a couple of weeks. With Lewis, I think it’s more a pain issue and Luds can play in pain. It’s not a not a nightmare for him, but we’re just trying to be smart around that.”
Skivington may need to adapt to life without these two key players, but he confirmed Jonny May is back available for selection following a stint on the sidelines.
