Gloucester Rugby boss George Skivington is under no illusion as to what his side is up against in the Challenge Cup final against the Sharks on Friday evening at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Skivington is bracing for an abrasive evening in London against the Sharks, who have several Springboks on their books.
Like the Cherry and Whites, the Durbanites have struggled in their domestic competition and are currently in 13th place on the United Rugby Championship table with one round to go.
Tackling the Springbok-laden Sharks
Gloucester, a West Midlands team, has the chance to win a third Challenge Cup title after defeating London Irish in 2006 and Edinburgh in 2015. The club lost its two previous finals to Stade Francais (2017) and Cardiff (2018). Gloucester turned their focus to the Challenge Cup after nine straight Premiership defeats between late October and early January.
Rugby World Cup champions Makazole Mapimpi, Lukhanyo Am, Ox Nche, Vincent Koch, and Eben Etzebeth are all expected to compete in the final on Friday, providing them with yet another formidable task.
“They have got a lot of high-profile players, a lot of guys who can do things out of nowhere, which goes from back-line players to Etzebeth in the second-row and World Cup-winning front-rowers,” Gloucester rugby director Skivington said.
“They have got a lot of guys who can change a game in a moment, and we have to be ready for that. They are a large opposition made up of many well-known names.
Both teams have a lot on the line since, like us, their league season hasn’t gone as planned.
It is impossible to avoid the physicality of the Sharks. It’s going to be a hard day if you aren’t prepared for the bodily struggle with guys like Etzebeth. They are huge, strong men.
We put a lot of effort and pride into our set-piece, and they do the same. Strong set pieces are a characteristic of South Africa, so I anticipate intense competition in that aspect of the game.”
Champions Cup qualification and two titles
The Cherry and Whites have won five of their 18 Premiership matches, and suffered a 90-0 defeat to Northampton Saints, but a victory on Friday will mean that they qualify for next season’s Investec Champions Cup and end this campaign with two trophies after winning the Premiership Rugby Cup.
“Bringing more silverware to Gloucester is the goal,” he continued. “When you reach the final, all you have to do is give it your all.
This makes it a big week for us since we placed our eggs in the basket of aiming for these two cups.
“Choosing a team for a final is difficult. Every member of the team has made a different kind of contribution to get us to the championship.
“We brought quite a youthful team to Tbilisi, and those players gave us a tough game in their first Challenge Cup encounter, defeating Black Lion 15–10.
It is difficult to strike the correct balance for this team because everyone has a hand in it.
