Gloucester Rugby will be looking to build on their opening day win over Nottingham when the Cherry & Whites travel to Saracens on Saturday.

Director of Rugby, George Skivington, is expecting a tough contest from the reigning Gallagher Premiership champions, who were defeated by Championship side, Coventry, in round one.

“Sarries are the champions of England, so they’re well-oiled and know what they’re doing.

“We know it will be a real challenge this weekend and it’s never easy going there so we’ll have to be at our best.”

“I’m sure Saracens will be licking their wounds and looking forward to us coming down this weekend.”

Despite challenging opposition in store at the Stone X, Skivington says his squad are remaining focused on their selves.

“We’re very focussed on ourselves, we want to put what we did in pre-season into match practise.

“We did some good things against Nottingham, but we know we also missed a few opportunities, so there’s lots of room to improve which is exciting.”

The Director of Rugby was pleased with what he saw from his side in the first game of the season last weekend and is hoping his side can build on the performance at Saracens.

“The first hit out of the season is really important. We had a good pre-season, but we wanted to see where we are, it’s only a first hit out but I was pleased with what happened.

“The boys stuck to the plan and were brave in the moments that allowed them to show their individual skills, so I was really pleased.”

Skivington was particularly happy with his side’s attack, which new Attack Coach, James Lightfoot-Brown, has been working on all summer.

"There were some strong moments. I thought George Barton ran the game well and the boys worked hard off the ball to put them in good positions and some of it came to fruition really well.

There’s still plenty of room to improve, but Lights has worked hard, the boys have bought into the system, so the initial sides are pleasing.”

There was plenty of young talent on display in last weekend’s game, but Skivington says he was impressed with how they took to first-team rugby.

“It’s difficult coming from the youth ranks to play the men’s game, and you want to put your best foot forward, but sometimes you just have to be brave.

“We have an environment here where no one is going to get on your back if you make an honest mistake, as long as you work hard, and the boys did that.

“There were times where we pushed our luck, and it didn’t come off, but they’ll learn from that and get better.”

In a slight coaching restructure this year, Tim Taylor and new addition T. Rhys Thomas have been working with the transition players, many of whom were in action against Nottingham. Skivington is delighted with the impact they’ve had on those players.

“Timmy is outstanding as we know, and he has a great way with the younger players and helping them get better but also pushing them hard and keeping them on track.

“TRT came in this year, and he’s been brilliant too. He’s got the forwards in a great spot so those two are running that well.”

Gloucester Rugby kick-off their second fixture of the Premiership Rugby Cup against Saracens at the Stone X Stadium in London at 2pm on Saturday.

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Skivington hoping to take momentum from opening day win to Saracens

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