Pre-match interview Gloucester Rugby v London Wasps

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GLOUCESTER STUN TOULOUSE

Gloucester stunned Toulouse in their final Heineken Cup pool game. Gloucester put in easily their best performance of the season to defeat the French giants 34-24 in a thrilling game. The result would have had a catastrophic impact on Toulouse’s European ambitions had it not been for an equally shocking result in the pool’s other game with Harlequins being humbled by Connacht, to secure Toulouse a place in the quarter finals.

Gloucester took an early 7-0 lead when Johnny May’s third minute try was converted by Freddie Burns. The shock appeared to have been quashed when Toulouse fought back to lead 17-7 shortly after. They did however fail to crush their English opponents and by half time the score was 17-14 after a try from Akapusi Qera and another conversion from the Cherry and Whites kicker.

Early in the second half the see saw effect of this match struck again when another Gloucester try, a conversion and a penalty gave the underdogs a 24-17 advantage. And the scores were again levelled when Timoci Matanavou crossed for a second time in the match and Beauxis again added the extras.

Gloucester edged in front again with six minutes to go through another Burns penalty. The icing on the cake came in the form of Johnny May’s second try of the day was also converted and one of the biggest shocks of this year’s competition was complete.

Toulouse will advance to the quarter finals having got away with this shock. It will be a stark warning for them though and they will be keen to ensure they do not slip up again in their quest to make it to Twickenham in May. Gloucester will take all the positives from this result in their attempt to reach league targets. They will however be left to rue their disappointing defeat to Harlequins last week. Victory in their clash with the Premiership leaders looked a real possibility for much of the game and had they secured victory they would have advanced at the expense of Toulouse to the Quarter finals.

GLOUCESTER LOOKING AT CANDIDATES

Brian Redpath has quite a lot to do now in the upcoming days as he has to go through a pile of CV’s and resumes, the size of a small skyscraper and decide what to do when it comes to selecting a squad for the training base.

With the recruitment window opening up sometime next month, most of the managers from various clubs are looking forward to getting a deal struck with Gloucester and benefit out of the deal as well. Moreover, it is the job of these clubs to protect their clients and hence will be making sure that all the out of contract players will be getting a fair chance with the Gloucester window opening.

Redpath also will be focused and make sure that he gets the right candidate. He will not hesitate to put in a little more time to decide, but will also start the conversations for players who have been shortlisted and highlighted. Players who have a high budget demands but excellent skills and not going to be let out easily and Redpath is making sure he can bring about changes in the negotiation contract.

Gloucester is definitely going to have some of the best players play for the club. Agents will constantly send in a never ending list of suitable players and Redpath might have talks about all these payers, but one thing is to be noted is that not all initial conversations will end up in a final agreement.

Until any further agreement is decided upon, Gloucester and Redpath will be tight lipped and unavailable for any update, regarding who will be selected and which player has a better advantage over the rest of the other shortlists.

BURNS STAYING AT GLOUCESTER

Freddie Burns has pledged his future to Gloucester, signing a new two year contract whilst declaring that he would love to stay at Kingsholm for much longer than the conclusion of that deal.

The young fly half is believed to have attracted interest from other clubs and has gone on the record as saying he was flattered by the interest but told of his long term commitment to the Cherry and Whites.

Burns was born and raised in Bath and grew up as a Bath fan. But he has suggested he is fast becoming a Gloucester boy, describing the club as “where my heart is”. He was courted by a number of Premiership clubs but has described himself as being privileged to have not had to explore those options, being given the opportunity to stay put by Gloucester boss Bryan Redpath.

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