How Gloucester Rugby's four new signings performed on their debuts
Gloucester Rugby’s four summer signings made their debut for the club on Friday night in the 33-19 away win over Munster in the club’s first pre-season game.
The Cherry and Whites secured a morale-boosting win away in Ireland thanks to tries from Charlie Atkinson, Ollie Thorley, Max Llewellyn, Afo Fasogbon and George Barton. Munster crossed the line three times through Liam Coombes, Ruadhan Quinn and Luca Cleary, but it was not enough to avoid a second straight defeat in pre-season having narrowly lost away at Bath the previous weekend.
READ MORE: Gloucester Rugby's attack coach delivers verdict on pre-season win at Munster
READ MORE:Gloucester Rugby's attack coach delivers verdict on pre-season win at Munster
READ MORE:Exclusive: Zach Mercer agrees Gloucester Rugby exit
Gloucester director of rugby George Skivington opted to name winger Christian Wade, scrum-half Tomos Williams and fly-half Gareth Anscombe in his strong starting side away at Cork, with tighthead prop Alfie Petch - who moved to Kingsholm from Biarritz this summer - coming off the bench.
Rugby reporter George Davis takes a closer look at the individual performances from the four new signings…
Christian Wade
The former Racing 92 man had high expectations on his shoulders ahead of his first appearance in a cherry and white shirt but struggled to get involved. The winger made few carries, but when he found a little space his speed and footwork looked electric, proving that despite his quiet debut he can still perform at 33 years old. Gloucester are looking to employ a game plan to get their dangerous back three into the game regularly, so the fact Wade was a peripheral figure for much of his first outing suggests there is still work to be done by attack coach James Lightfoot-Brown.
Tomos Williams
Leading the team on his first outing with club captain Lewis Ludlow starting on the bench, the Welsh international put in an assured performance after being sidelined through injury since March. The former Cardiff man’s box kicking was on point, with his ability to hang up a contestable kick from the base a potentially huge weapon for Gloucester this season.
Williams also showed some good pace to get on the support line for Afo Fasogbon’s try, getting close to the line with an explosive handoff, and he generally worked really well with Anscombe at 10 and Charlie Atkinson at 12 in attack. His instinct to track breaks was clear to see as well with the 29-year-old the first man in to celebrate with the try scorer after multiple long-range scores having escorted in the eventual scorer.
Gareth Anscombe
The fly-half looks set to be a focal point for the Gloucester attack this season as the English side executed a series of loop plays off him, calling on Anscombe to pick the right option. This is not a new ploy for the Cherry and Whites, who ran similar attacking patterns last season, but it puts high demands on the stand-off to pull the strings.
The Welsh international spotted space around Ollie Thorley’s wing well in the first half, shipping the ball wide when it was on. Defensively he was solid as well and his ability to put some decent kicks in and marshal the backline was evident. Intriguingly, kicking duties were left to full-back George Barton.
Alfie Petch
Brought on at the interval, the former Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints prop benefitted from a dysfunctional first 15 minutes to the second half where there were a lot of scrums, and he held up his own well against tough opposition. The 24-year-old conceded a penalty in a scrum late on but other than that he carried and tackled well. Having bounced around a few clubs early in his career, he looks like a decent prospect now he is maturing under the tutelage of World Cup winner Trevor Woodman and looks set to provide strength in depth in the front row for the Premiership side.