Even Gloucester fans will agree with Andy Goode's critique of their team
From beating the champions on the opening day of the season to equalling their biggest ever Premiership defeat against Sale a few short weeks later, Gloucester must be the most frustrating team in the world to support.
They can raise their game every few matches to beat a big side but then they put in abject performances the next week. It was an embarrassing performance at the AJ Bell Stadium at the weekend.
Taking nothing away from the Sharks, who played reasonably well and took their chances, but Gloucester were ridiculously poor. They looked like they were lacking energy and there didn’t seem to be the will to play their hearts out for the shirt.
They had 62% of the possession against Sale on Friday and the same share of territory, forcing the Sharks to make 229 tackles but still lost 57-10. That means they really have to question how they’re attacking and why there is such a lack of cutting edge.
To dominate the possession and territory in a game to that extent but lose by 47 points is ludicrous and, as well as questioning the skillset of some of the players, the desire to even fight and chase back seemed non-existent for some of them.
Johan Ackermann was a tough, uncompromising second row as a player and, although he looks like a nice guy when he’s being interviewed, you can see that steel in his eyes and I’m sure he doesn’t suffer fools gladly. I’ve no doubt they’ll be in for the worst training week of their lives this week.
I used to get a massive amount of stick at Kingsholm for obvious reasons but I gave as good as I got and I used to love playing there. I’ve got a lot of time for Gloucester fans and being one must be a real rollercoaster of emotions.
Ackermann has proven that he can improve a team after he took the Lions from a position of not even being in Super Rugby to winning a play-off to get back in 2013 and then reaching consecutive finals in 2016 and 2017.
That is a seriously impressive feat and you can’t judge him on his first five games in the Premiership.
He arrived late due to his own success after his Lions played in the Super Rugby final against the Crusaders in August. That was unfortunate for Gloucester as it might have set them back a couple of weeks. Culturally, there is a big difference though and it is going to take time for him to bed in.
Nobody can be pointing the finger at Ackermann. He’s still soaking up a completely different competition and outlook on how the game is played and he is still getting to know his team and what the strengths and weaknesses of his players are.
However, above him you have to look at the direction the club has been going in recent years and ask some serious questions of those in charge. David Humphreys has been there as director of rugby since 2014 now and a few coaches have come and gone during his tenure but above him there are even more issues.
There have been so many question marks over the ownership of the club in the past couple of years with them looking for further investment and coming close with Mohed Altrad before that fell through and that hasn’t helped either.
It’s a club that, from the outside, it seems is in disarray in terms of the direction it’s heading in off the field and that makes it really hard to achieve stability on the field and then confidence becomes a problem.
It’s nothing to do with coaching in relation to Ackermann but the leadership above that is the issue and, for me, that’s where the fans are being short-changed.
You look at certain clubs and you can identify the cultures within them. It’s very clear what Saracens are about and the same with Wasps and their style, Exeter and their strengths, Leicester’s traditions and so on but I can’t see what Gloucester have been building over the last six years.
They reached the Premiership semi-final before losing to Saracens in 2011 but have finished ninth in four of the six seasons since then.
It is the same every year. Everyone thinks they’ve got a decent squad and they should be above where they are but they always finish around eighth or ninth and flatter to deceive.
I think a lot of that is ingrained in their culture. In some games they seem to accept mediocrity or poor performance where other teams wouldn’t.
They spend very close to the full £7 million per year allowed by the salary cap and their squad spend is reportedly in the top four in the league.
Normally, you finish roughly where your investment in your players says you should but they aren’t getting the results, so there is something deeper wrong at the club culturally.
They are 10th in the Premiership at the moment. I’ve got no doubt that the relegation battle will be between Worcester and London Irish. Gloucester won’t be dragged into that because of the Kingsholm factor and they do have quality in that squad.
However, the inconsistency and lack of belief looks likely to keep them in the bottom third of the table again and the best that they can hope for is a good run in the Challenge Cup and qualifying for the top tier of European competition by winning that.
Everyone got a bit caught up in the hype after the win over Exeter in the opening round but the Chiefs should have won that game and Gloucester were hanging on at the end in their only other win over Worcester. There’s no chance of them making a push for the top six.
A lot of the time you do get a big reaction the next week when you come off the back of a thrashing like they have and you only have to look at their opponents this Saturday for evidence of that.
Saints got an absolute hiding against Saracens and then physically dominated Leicester the following week and have really kicked on from there, so much so that they’re now top of the table. Gloucester will put in a much more committed performance this week but they won’t be top in a few weeks.
I’d love to be a fly on the wall in the changing room and the meeting room this week because there will be some no holds barred conversations going on.
Comments on RugbyPass
Worst article I've read in a while. Trying to disguise a backhand slap as a compliment. The whole article is a bit weird and negative. I think South African men are emotional in general… think Clad le Clos’s father 2012 London Olympics.
2 Go to commentsIreland are going to win the world cup.
9 Go to commentsIt was the strangest result ever. Etzebeth should've been yellow card for his cynical retiring move and a penalty try. Birth second half tries by the Allblacks were fantastic and the TMO operating outside the law to rule out the first try was egregious. Yes, the boks got the win but it was through some bizarre officiating that allowed them to sneak home against 14 men that dominated them. The quieter Bok supporters know and acknowledge the Allblacks were the better and dominant side. Justifying the win because they beat a pre world cup Allblacks selection is silly.
204 Go to commentsA very English thing to do hey Courtney, blerrie kant
4 Go to commentsIt sounds like Andrew is trying to convince himself or has just lost all perspective. The team did look jaded for the last couple of games of the six nations but a few things were wrong there. Italy tackled their hearts out and made Ireland work hard for every try. Outsmarted by Scotland? Huh? Ireland got held up over the line about 4 times. Scotland did nothing on attack the whole game other than one breakaway near the end. A recharge and reset is needed which they hopefully will have had before the SA your.
9 Go to commentsIncluding SA and Argie teams was great for the quality of rugby, but middle of the night games and player travel/ jet lag make that unworkable. I think that SA in Europe and Argie building an American league with USA, Canada etc would be better long term. If Oz can't sustain Rebels then next cab off the rank should be a Japanese team. Keep regional comps to time zones, both club and test rugby. Then existing test windows for test tours plus RWC.
6 Go to commentsMisogynists have feelings too!
2 Go to commentsCrowd sizes of the URC v the Premiership must be a big factor.
1 Go to commentsWell you’ve made a proper tit of yourself, haven’t you! 😂
173 Go to commentsBen it's beyond their comprehension-
204 Go to commentsThanks Sam. Interesting read. Harder or easier for Parling to come into a completely new setup where performance was abysmal last time out? I’d suggest easier to be better but, as you suggest, will be a lot to do with how much latitude he’s granted. Hopefully all he needs. With hybrids like Holloway, Hannigan, Swinton and Leota as options at 6 we have the basics for a strong lineout. BPA returning means we have good options at 2 also with Faessler, Porecki and Uelese, although Jordan is a scrumming beast rather than a dart thrower. I’m typically a pessimist or realist but that’s never applied to the Wallabies
1 Go to commentsMad how this somehow contained absolutely zero information.
4 Go to commentsI’m looking forward to attending the Twickenham match, I don’t think it will have a bearing on the outcome of the grand prize itself but it will tell us more about each teams’ preparation and game plan. It’s hard to look past one of the big four (I’m including Canada) lifting the trophy in 2025 but sport is a curious thing, there will still be twists and turns in road ahead.
2 Go to commentsThe better side seems to be the losing side a lot these days. As far as narrative goes. Must be the big emergent culture of “participation awards” that have emerged in nanny states. ”It looked like New Zealand would take the game from there but lapses in execution let South Africa get back into the game. New Zealand’s goal kickers left five points out there, including a very make-able penalty on the stroke of half”. Sounds like a chronic problem… I wonder how the better team has lapses in concentration and execution? Or are those not important factors in the grand scheme of total performances? In 2023, the ABs at least didn’t give up a lead to lose. They just couldn’t execute to get the points and take the lead. This Baby AB result points to a choke - letting the game slip through your fingers. In the words of the great Ricky Bobby’s dad - “If you’re not 1st you’re last!” Loosely translated - if you didn’t win, you’re a loser.
10 Go to commentsWith Stuart Lancaster at the helm, Racing 92 looks more and more a mercenaries club like Toulon some years ago and they are not even performing despite all the money on offer.
4 Go to commentsCouple of things BS missed: wind was behind the Baby Blacks in the first half. Baby Boks got points from a scrum penalty in the final quarter against this ‘dominant pack’, and left three points on the park after a missed penalty.
10 Go to commentsSensible thoughts on this, Brett. Also worth considering we’ve sold 60k tickets for a game between the Rebels and the Lions next year. Got to be roughly $10m in ticket and game day revenue there.
6 Go to commentsUnsuccessful bitter ex Ulster player taking a pop shot at a side that isn't including his consistently poor mates up north
9 Go to commentsHis decision to play in France isn’t a petulant decision as this article suggests. I reckon that France is the perfect place to demonstrate that he can mix it in those battles Rassie references. It’s a good decision to try get into the squad. My personal opinion is that he wins more battles than he loses. I don’t have Rassie’s stats machine behind me, but Daymian’s is so strong moving through traffic and in the rip.
4 Go to commentsWow! Argie forward dominance is something I have not read in years….
1 Go to comments