WILL THERE be a changing of the guard? All season long, Gloucester-Hartpury and Exeter Chiefs have vied for top spot in the Allianz Premier 15s. Saracens, three-time champions, have been playing catch-up and Harlequins, the only other team to have won it, resumed business in May in danger of missing out on the play-offs.
In Gloucester, there was despondency at the men’s sorry season. It made a sharp contrast to the smiles and laughter of the women’s team that has made such loping strides. Contentment and optimism sit side by side.
“If we can keep our players on that pitch, I’d say we’ll be pretty confident,” says Sean Lynn, head coach of Gloucester-Hartpury, of his team’s title chances. “It depends on momentum, because momentum in sport is huge, and making sure we keep all the players injury-free. And then it’s just about how you adapt if you do get injuries and how good is the squad.”
The squad is good alright, very good. Lynn and his fellow coaches saw to that in pre-season when they sat downvictories. First and foremost it was about beefing up the forward pack.
