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Dallaglio: Why Wasps DNA can help Cipriani and co fulfil Gloucester's potential
Lawrence Dallaglio is backing the new Gloucester new coaching set-up to deliver Gallagher Premiership and European success thanks to the Wasps DNA they share with Danny Cipriani, the club’s mercurial out-half. Following the abrupt departure of head coach Johan Ackermann and director of rugby David Humphreys, Gloucester brought in ex-Wasps lock George Skivington to take over Ackermann’s role.
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After that, former England and Wasps out-half Alex King was added as attack coach and ex-Wasps centre Dominic Waldouck, one of Cipriani’s closest friends, came in as defence coach. Together with Dallaglio and Cipriani, Gloucester’s new coaching trio enjoyed Heineken Cup and Premiership titles at Wasps.
Skivington’s first match in charge of Gloucester was a Cipriani-inspired 44-15 win over 14-man Worcester, but they have since lost 33-24 to Bristol and 36-20 at Saracens, leaving them in eighth place, 13 points adrift of the league play-offs which they reached last season.
It has raised questions about Gloucester’s ability to be a consistent force in the Premiership and they now cannot afford to slip up against struggling Leicester at Kingsholm on Sunday.
Besides tapping into the winning mentality created during Wasps’ most successful period, Dallaglio believes it will be key for Gloucester to develop other attacking threats to take the pressure off Cipriani while also creating a “ruthless, hard edge streak up front”.
? | Cherry & Whites hit Warriors for 6?? ?
Watch the full highlights as Gloucester Rugby ran in 6?? tries at Sixways ?#WORvGLO
— Gloucester Rugby ? (@gloucesterrugby) August 17, 2020
Speaking to RugbyPass, the 2003 World Cup-winning England No8 said: “The Gloucester coaches are young, hungry, ambitious. They won lots of things in the Premiership and Europe at Wasps and understand what it takes at that level. They have that winning culture that made Wasps such a dominant force for three or four years. They have got that in their DNA because they were part of that journey.
“When you look at the make-up of the Gloucester squad and the talent they have led by Danny, you have to ask the question – have they fulfilled their potential? The answer is no they probably haven’t.
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“Even under the previous coaching regime they were getting better but when it came down to it, the brutal fact is that there is still a big gap between Exeter and Saracens and everyone else. Gloucester were leading the charge last season (finishing third) but were comfortably beaten in the play-off (44-19) by Sarries.
“However, if you look at the quality of the squad at Gloucester’s disposal with Danny pulling the strings, what they haven’t aligned that with is a ruthless, hard edge streak up front which Gloucester teams of old were built on. The challenge for the coaches and Danny is how you develop a game plan that will take on the top teams.”
Dallaglio wants to see Gloucester prove they can find the right balance to give them the ability to “win ugly” when required, which means developing threats up front. “The best teams I played with were always coach-led and player-driven and while you’re not always going to agree on things, it’s about creating a happy environment and winning,” he added.
“It’s nice to play good rugby and score lots of tries but it doesn’t really work out if you come up short in the play-offs. Those coaches bring a winning mentality and Danny has been part of that. Teams have played exciting rugby everywhere he has been.
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“With front-foot ball, Danny is one of the best players in the world. Take that away from him and Gloucester will need to build a game plan around someone like Jake Polledri in the back row. They will need to construct a game to be able to win in whatever way they need.
“The issues at Gloucester haven’t been around Danny. Wasps were setting things on fire when he was there, and he did well at Sale. It’s about other players stepping up and have a real say in what happens collectively.”
'The move back wasn’t an easy decision'@J0nnyMay tells @samrobertsrugby ???why he left @gloucesterrugby in 2017
… and why he's decided to come home. https://t.co/axYYUkOb9D
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 19, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
29 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
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