After a strong start, George Skivington's Gloucester have dropped to ninth in the Premier League table. Photo: Dan Mullan/Getty Images < p>With almost everything else in the Premier League currently driven by finance, it's only fitting that George Skivington describes the Gloucester injury crisis in the same way.
«In finance much money. physical therapist's office at the moment» is a subtle but vivid way of illustrating the difficult situation of the lowered salary cap.
It must be said that Skivington is not willing to voice this dissatisfaction. Vice versa. The 40-year-old man seems to be allergic to blame-shifting. Even when asked directly about the brutal list of ailments of the entire Gloucester crew, he is clearly writhing.
«It's definitely… tough,» Skivington agrees, before suggesting a way to mitigate the damage should similar disruptive circumstances occur in the future.
Head coach George Skivington called this period «the most difficult» for him. as head coach. Photo: Bob Bradford/Getty Images
“There were a lot of [injuries] in key positions of the key guys and I'm not sure why that is. I have never seen anything like it and it was definitely part of the management. We will definitely look into this in the off-season because there is a lot of money in our physical therapy room, especially at the end of the season.
“Many teams have the opposite. We've gone the other way, and it's frustrating as a head coach because you're walking through our physical therapy room now and there are big people everywhere, high quality players. It's frustrating when you've had multiple losses because you think one or two of them can make a significant difference…not to mention all 13 of them.
“This is what it is and I don't like it. make excuses, but I don't mind talking about the facts. It opens up opportunities for other players, which was great for some of the younger guys. But when it comes to fighting for a place in the top four, a healthy and athletic team can make a huge difference.”
Injury list
The bare facts of Gloucester's league campaign are undeniably disappointing, especially considering they've won five of their first six Premier League matches. Owen Farrell's touchline conversion with the final blow in an exciting game doomed the Cherries and Whites to their only loss of the sequence.
November brought a slump, but Gloucester recovered enough to continue a crowded fight for the win . playoffs as recently as February. Here, however, their list of absentees seemed to become fickle. Going through all of this, falling to ninth place makes sense.
Gallagher Premier League standings 2022/23 season
Mark Atkinson, a key center ball player, suffered a season-ending knee injury in October. Two months later, the same fate befell Fraser Balmain. As for the prostitute, Santiago Sochino, Jack Singleton and George McGuigan (the latter arrived mid-season from the Newcastle Falcons) have been ruled out for a long time. Multiple failures in one position really sting.
At the end of March, it was confirmed that Albert Tuisue, Val Rapava-Raskin and Georgy Kveseladze would only appear after the summer. Ruan Ackerman immediately injured his knee ligaments in a heroic loss to La Rochelle.
Adam Hastings missed most of the season from due to injury Photo: Harry Trump/Getty Images
Scotland's midfielder Adam Hastings is on the verge of a comeback following a shoulder complaint that has kept him out of any Six Nations participation. Olly Thorley also missed the first half of this semester. In the preseason, of course, there was a devastating setback due to the diagnosis of Ed Slater's motor neurone disease. Gloucester missed an experienced castle. This is what any club would do.
'It was the most difficult period for me as a head coach'
“As we approached the New Year, there was not much danger with the choice,” Skivington adds. “The team chose itself. The guys tried their best, and they had to continue. When you're dominated by Bat in a fight and you know you have six first line players in the physical therapy room, reality remains reality.
«You need these guys against the power they had and it was the story of the season, unfortunately. I have to study it and piece together a few things. It was the most difficult period for me as a head coach, because the question is not, “How will we beat them?”, but, “Can he play in this position? Oh he's gone and he's gone And they won't come back either.»
Four defeats in a row doomed Gloucester to a shameful place in the middle of the table. They crashed in the second half against Leicester Tigers and 14 of the Newcastle Falcons lost at Kingston Park. Last Friday in the West Country derby, a 17-0 lead was wiped out by Bath's dominance at set pieces.
'There are always emotional moments 24 hours after a game'
Skivington, an honest and affable speaker, is stolid about the season, which has given him cause for encouragement. On an individual basis, Rapava-Raskin was great. Lewis Ludlow continues to amaze. Collectively, despite their last match, Gloucester's scrum and maul flexed their muscles. The smooth attack against La Rochelle and Bath is an indication that the team is «connecting the dots». “The nuts and bolts are here,” Skivington insists. «We obviously don't have any results.»
Gloucester lost to the Newcastle Falcons at the end of last month. Stu Forster/Getty Images
The vagaries of Champions Cup qualification are such that Gloucester, who have games against the Sale Sharks and Bristol Bears, can still make it into the tournament next year with an eighth-place finish. A trip to La Rochelle and a daring performance in a thrilling round of 16 game, Skivington says, whetted his appetite.
That's when it should happen next season. Gloucester fans are tired of hearing that. Their team also didn't make the playoffs last season. But things are looking up. Zach Mercer will be arriving shortly, and Skivington seems determined to channel that pain into a positive direction.
“It's hard for all of us,” he explains. “You put your life and soul into this profession. It's really very hard. But I'm always pretty pragmatic. There is always an emotional 24 hours after a game. Once you get over it, you look at what happened. In terms of what we're trying to do, this has never been clearer. In terms of shipping, we don't quite deliver the whole package. That's fair enough.»
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