MADDENINGLY inconsistent is a term that both Billy Twelvetrees and Gloucester have been labelled with over the years.
However, all that is starting to change with the tousled-hair former England centre now one of the heartbeats of a Cherry & Whites side that is looking good for a first play-off appearance in eight years.
As well as being an 80 per cent goalkicker, Twelvetrees' decision-making and skill execution is arguably on a different level to when he won the last of his 22 caps in 2015.
“I love playing the game and I've always been my harshest critic. I love trying to get better and I just want to push myself to be the best player I can be,” said the 30-year-old, who has missed only two Premiership games in the last four seasons.
“I think we have found a great stability in the sense that there is a core group of players at the club now and the same coaches have been together for a while; we understand what we are about and what standards we live by, and the coaches back us up on that.
“I hate making a mistake that may let the team down but if it happens, you just have to try and learn from it. Being in an environment like we have here, helps that.”
With Gloucester's big ball carriers putting them on the front foot, Danny Cipriani, Twelvetrees and Mark Atkinson have been given an opportunity to shine, in their own right as well as a combination.
“We're all different personalities but we're all on the same page. It probably helps that we're different from one another because it means we don't conflict on things,” Twelvetrees said.
“Everyone is putting the team first, and we've enjoyed putting some good attacking and defensive stuff together out there on the pitch. There's nothing better than scoring some good tries and and then when the final whistle blows, shaking each other's hands knowing you've done well as a group.”
While Cipriani tends to get all the accolades, Twelvetrees and Atkinson's contribution is valued highly within the corridors of Kingsholm.
Atkinson arrived in the West Country five years ago from Bedford, the club where Twelvetrees made his name before breaking through at Leicester, and after a slow start to his Premiership career he is being likened by some of his team-mates as the next best thing since ex-England centre Will Greenwood.
“I think he is one of the most under-rated players in our squad,” Twelvetrees said. “He is very tall and perceptively quick as well. People think he is slow because his nickname is sausage legs, but everyone at Gloucester know how good he is and it's brilliant to have him in our squad.
“He puts me in space, and we defend well together; he does the simple things well and is a team man first and foremost. He is a very fit and athletic player who performs week in week out.”
With Cipriani believed to be unsure over his future, the midfield axis may have a limited shelf life.
Twelvetrees has seen great players come and go in his seven seasons at the club, England star Jonny May being one, and takes a phlegmatic stance on the future of Gloucester's star playmaker as well as Cipriani's continued exclusion from the England setup.
“When we've lost players in the past, I've been gutted because you want the best players in your team. But you've got to move on and improve, otherwise you get left behind. We'll continue to go at it hammer and tongs and whatever happens next year, happens.”
As for Cipriani's prolonged England exile, he added: “It's tough for him and tough for a lot of boys because, when you look up and down the league, there are so many good players playing well.
“As a club, you get frustrated that guys don't get the recognition that they deserve but I think if you stick together and win as a group every week, the recognition will come on the back of that. You only have to look at the Saracens template to see that.”
Gloucester returned to Premiership action yesterday in fourth place, with a seven-point cushion ahead of the chasing pack. The last time they made top four in 2011 Twelvetrees was at Leicester and appeared in the first of two consecutive losing finals. He'd love to make it third time lucky with Gloucester.
“When I was at Leicester you knew you were going to be in the play-offs and, now, I just want to do it again and again. The guys that have been at Leicester who are now at Gloucester (Ed Slater and Fraser Balmain) understand that getting to the play-offs is great but there is nothing better than winning a final.”
JON NEWCOMBE / Photo: Getty Images
