Gloucester Rugby host Leicester Tigers at Kingsholm on Saturday in Round 13 of the Gallagher Premiership. Ahead of the fixture George Skivington faced the press to preview the game, talk about recent results and the Champions Cup draw.

On European Champions Cup draw

“A home tie is brilliant. We’ve had a bit of luck there obviously with two clubs getting it (a home draw). You’d always take a home game over an away game so we’ll discuss it as coaches and start thinking of preparations.

“It’s been a funny year for games being called off and points being awarded all over the place and it is what it is and things have fallen the way they’ve fallen. That last try effort against Ulster from George Barton and the boys to build back into that game was just a brilliant moment and it’s come through for us at this point.”

On two wins in a row

“The most positive for me in my role is to see the boys come in on a Monday and see how quick they are to start picking the game apart and pointing out their own weaknesses and where we could have been better. It’s very much a next job focus which is something I’m proud of. The way they’ve come in and approached it, because it obviously wasn’t ideal the way the game unfolded, but the resilience and the game management side of it, we’ve been tested numerous times the last month on that front and with all the will in the world you couldn’t predict some of the stuff in training. I think the business-like approach has been great from the boys and I’m really proud of them from that point of view.

“Of course, when you come in on a Monday and you’ve won, there are a few more smiles around the place and it’s a much better feeling than when you lose.”

On Leicester Tigers

“They’re in really good form and they’re a very efficient, well drilled team. They are clinical in what they do and they’ve got a very strong set piece and kicking game and they’re all on board with executing the plan very well and I think they’ll definitely be a tough challenge and as we’ve seen they’ve been picking up results steadily and managing to climb the table.”

Avenging Round 1 loss

“From that point of view, it wasn’t a good day for us. That was probably as bad a start as we could have had. We all thought we were in a better position than we were and it’s a day that we would all sooner forget. On the same note, it was a day that we had our eyes open wide and we had to make some decisions and put some markers down and I think those types of days are extremely hard to swallow at the time. I did not enjoy that day one tiny bit but it’s funny when you watch things back. It’s dead and buried if you like but it wasn’t a good day to look back on!”

Press Notes | “It’s very much a next job focus.”

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