Shark hunter Hastings holds reins as Glos prepare for Exiles onslaught
GEORGE Skivington says Adam Hastings is ready to make his mark on the Premiership after the Scotland outside-half was eased into his new club following a summer move from Glasgow.
Hastings came off the bench in the first two rounds against Northampton and Leicester, matches Gloucester lost, but started the victories against Worcester and Sale with his haul of 27 points including a first career drop-goal, which proved the difference against Sale who fought back from 33-15 down to lose by a point.
“Adam has made a big lifestyle change,” said Skivington, Gloucester's head coach. “He has left Scotland and is in a new club and a new environment. We train differently to what he is used to and he is loving Kingsholm, which is louder than he had experienced before.
“The Premiership is a ruthless league and we wanted to give him time to digest that and understand it. He has been brilliant and he will develop and help our backline which has some really good threats and a pack that is growing.”
Skivington arrived from London Irish during the first lockdown last year and he and his new team of coaches had to be patient as they set about rebuilding a club that had become consistent only in its inconsistency, often blowing hot and cold in the same movement.
They started to show themselves at the end of last season, before an outbreak of Covid prematurely ended their campaign, and they have harvested six try bonus points in their last ten Premiership matches.
“I am very fortunate with the coaches I have here,” said Skivington. “Alex King has a very good way of empowering players, Dominic Waldouck knows what we need to strengthen up and Tim Taylor and Trevor Woodman are also outstanding.
“We want the players to play to their strengths. We have threats across the board with a very good back three and a pack that is learning how to become dominant. We are scoring a number of tries and what is pleasing for me is that they are varied. We have made big shifts in key areas and the goal now is to develop such a competitive squad that no one is sure of his place.”
Skivington has made three changes from the side which held on against Sale with Santiago Carreras forming the back three with wings Louis Ress-Zammit and Jonny May, Matias Alemanno returning to the second row and Val Rapava- Ruskin packing down in the front row.
Kirill Gotovtsev, who started Russia's four matches in the 2019 World Cup, starts his third consecutive match after being on the bench for the first two and Skivington revealed how tricky it had been doing research on the 34-year old.
“We had to go round the houses digging up details on Kirill and it was not easy because he was playing in Russia,” said Skivington. “No one knew who we were signing, but he wrestled for Russia and he has a phenomenal work-rate. He has worked very hard to get to this level and he is a very good recruit for us.”
Skivington said he was not reading anything into Irish's start to the season.
“This is such a ruthless competition that a match is never over until it is over,” he said. “We know how they feel because we have been there. They will come out of this and make their way up the table. We have won our last couple of games, but it does not make us world beaters and just because they have not won does not make them less dangerous.”
Second row Freddie Clarke said the experience London Irish have, especially in the forwards, would ensure there was no complacency in a Gloucester side who have not won three consecutive Premiership matches since April 2019.
“They have more glitter than us and are very strong one paper, but it is all about how we work as a collective.” said Clarke.
“We know our areas of strength and it is about sticking to them. We have two home games coming up after London Irish and we have the chance to put ourselves in a really good position. They will be playing in front of their own fans and will probably get a lot of people there, but we are not too bothered.
“You expect every game in the Premiership to be close because teams are so evenly matched. It is not like a few years ago when there were some easy games. The big message for us is not to become complacent because things are going well and there is a lot more to come from us.”
