Gloucester
Team plans to honour TW with Kingsholm victory
Tinds - motivated
By Cherry Picker
December 15 2010
With the praise for what he did and the appreciation for what he has left behind still ringing round Kingsholm, this week’s death of Gloucester owner Tom Walkinshaw is sure to cast a shadow over the team’s European return match against La Rochelle on Sunday. But the players say they are determined to honour the great man with a winning double against the French side.
Captain Mike Tindall expects the crowd to act as an extra man on what is sure to be a highly-charged occasion, and he believes that the game could be another step up the progress ladder Glaws have been making in recent weeks.
Even under normal circumstances, it’s not going to be easy because La Rochelle were stung at home last weekend and will be doubly desperate to earn a revenge result.
But in the wake of TW’s death, Gloucester’s players and the fans will be keen to ensure that the sadness which has gripped all concerned with the club this does not affect the performance in a negative way.
Tindall told the Citizen: "It's always difficult to play teams back to back, but we've got a record we're fiercely proud of at home, and we know we can make it tough for teams to come to Kingsholm.
"The fans make it intimidating, and that gives us a huge boost, we're trying to maintain and extend our home form, and we'll go after them again on Sunday.
"We're always desperate to repay our fans' loyalty and support, but this is a week when we could never be short of motivation.
"It's a big step for us winning in France, a lot of work's gone in and we've been building up towards getting results like this.
"You've got to slug out wins on the road, and Saturday was a good example of how to do that.
"It's just about getting that belief, you can't underestimate just how much actually winning away can boost that confidence and mental resolve.
"We've got to build on that in the next two games at home now, before we go up to Leeds on New Year's Day for another real test on the road."
Sunday’s game is followed by a Premiership return, Northampton visiting Kingsholm on Boxing Day before that Leeds trip Tindall mentions.
But first, a fitting farewell for Tom Walkinshaw on Sunday will be uppermost in everybody’s minds.
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15/12/2010 11:44
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Hopefully we can all get the chance to say goodbye to TW properly.
I'm sure he'd have loved the day to be marked with a good win.
I never met the man, but I reckon TW wouldn't want all the other sickly stuff.
Best wishes to his family ... as somebody has said elsewhere, he's a hard act to follow.
