"Yes, especially for the guys who didn't go away on tour. They've been in for a long time now and they're raring to go."
"Obviously, this time last year, I was in the same boat as I hadn't toured and had gone through a long preseason. And your body tells you that you're ready to go. So, those guys who've been in since day one are really looking forward to a game."
Simpson-Daniel himself was a part of the England Saxons squad who successfully participated in the Churchill Cup in North America and confessed that the conditions had been a real tester for all concerned.
"There were some tricky conditions out there. It was boiling hot and we were playing at altitude in Denver. That made it pretty tough."
"You'd be told to jog round the pitch to warm up or run to the posts and back and, even then, you'd feel it."
"The first game was played at high altitude in Denver and I picked up a dead leg just before half time which was unfortunate and had to come off."
"But all the guys who played those games said how hard the conditions were in terms of the altitude and the heat and the games had to be broken down into four quarters of 20 minutes each so that they could fluid on board."
Looking ahead to this season, Gloucester's squad has stayed relatively stable compared to most Aviva clubs. That could be an important factor?
"I think that's a real positive. We don't need to start from scratch, we can build on what we've done before as a group, do some fine tuning and get really good at executing what we consider to be our strengths."
Gloucester Rugby vs Scarlets, Saturday August 14th, kick off 3pm
