By Cherry Picker
March 4 2009
Last weekend's West Country derby against Bath was a crunch game for Gloucester, and there's another on the horizon on Saturday when coach Dean Ryan takes his Glaws team to Leicester to face a Tigers team putting in a late run in an attempt to turn their inconsistent season into a place in the play-offs. The game won't decide who finishes where, but it could go a long way towards it.
While Glaws were beating Bath at Kingsholm, the Tigers were winning 31-28 against London Irish, a result they hope will be a springboard towards the top four.
Getting a result is vital or Glaws, but if they need any further incentive, getting revenge for a home reverse at the hands of the Tigers on the first day of the season should suffice.
Tigers coach Richard Cockerill has told his players to play a more attacking style of rugby following the sad departure of Heyneke Meyer, and it appears to be paying off.
The season is at a crucial stage now, and every match is going to be a big one for Glaws and all the other play-of contenders.
Tigers are fifth, eight points behind Gloucester, but the fact that Bath are sixth just one point behind them shows how quickly things can change - it's not too long since Bath were top of the table.
The full fixture list this weekend is:
Barf v Brizzle
Leicester v Glaws
Quins v Sarries
Wuss v Saints
Sharks v Falcons
Wasps v Irish
Of the other three teams in the top four, Sale should beat Newcastle, Irish might struggle at Wasps, and Quins will be expecting to beat Sarries.
Hold on tight.