Gloucester selection raises eyebrows and ire ahead of crucial European clash
The fortunes of Gloucester have changed a lot in the past week. The Cherry and Whites went from rock bottom of Pool Five in the Champions Cup to second following their bonus-point victory over Connacht at Kingsholm last Sunday.
Having lost to both Toulouse and Montpellier in the opening two rounds of the tournament, Johan Ackermann’s side looked all but out, but the impressive win, combined with Montpellier losing to Toulouse, means there is a glimmer of hope.
The west country outfit travel to Galway on Saturday knowing a win is a must if they are going to hold onto any hope of making a remarkable resurgence in their pool.
That is why some of the omissions in the starting XV have perplexed Gloucester fans.
The in-form Joe Simpson starts on the bench alongside Ben Morgan, Danny Cipriani and Rugby World Cup winner Franco Mostert in a team that sees some young players blooded into the fold.
Ackermann has lost the plot ???? very disappointing team selection after the win last week, could’ve won this week and then the momentum of winning would have been built ready for the return of premiership action
— iamstevendix (@stevendix2000) December 13, 2019
While there may be long term benefits of letting some players have exposure to such a crucial game, the goal of winning in the immediate present may be compromised. This is a team that still has some high-class and first-choice players, but very few would argue that the players on the bench are not starters.
Disappointed with the side again…we traveled to Montpellier and now to Galway…are we not taking this seriously?
— Sarah Smith (@goonersmiths) December 13, 2019
The view amongst fans after last week’s victory is that Gloucester are very much back in the hunt, but questions have now been raised as to whether Ackermann has already turned his attentions to the Gallagher Premiership. The Sportsground is not an easy place to travel to, as Montpellier can attest to, and they may be making things hard for themselves.
I thought another 5 pointer and we had a chance to get out of the group but I must be wrong as this isn't a must get 5 point selection
— malcolm vickery ? (@caldiglaws) December 13, 2019
A win in Ireland, alongside a win for Toulouse in Montpellier, would put Gloucester in a very good position to come second in their pool and perhaps qualify for the quarter-finals as one of the best runners-up. A loss would make that highly unlikely.
Gloucester Rugby:
15. Matt Banahan; 14. Louis Rees-Zammit, 13. Billy Twelvetrees, 12. Mark Atkinson, 11. Ollie Thorley; 10. Lloyd Evans, 9. Callum Braley; 1. Josh Hohneck, 2. Todd Gleave, 3. Fraser Balmain; 4. Alex Craig, 5. Gerbrandt Grobler; 6. Freddie Clarke, 7. Lewis Ludlow (capt), 8. Ruan Ackermann
Replacements:
16. Franco Marais, 17. Alex Seville, 18. Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19. Franco Mostert, 20. Ben Morgan, 21. Joe Simpson, 22. Danny Cipriani, 23. Chris Harris
Unavailable for selection:
Ruan Dreyer, Corné Fourie, James Hanson, Willi Heinz, Jaco Kriel, Tom Marshall, Ed Slater, Owen Williams, Jason Woodward
Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments