Preview: Gloucester v Leicester
May 16 2008
How life turns in odd circles. A year ago, give or take a couple of weeks, these same two teams faced each other at Twickenham for the right to be crowned Guinness Premiership champions.
The title would have been Gloucester's by rights. They were league winners after all. But as has become so fashionable in the Premiership down the years, Leicester did enough to get there, and delivered a stunning performance on the day to bully Gloucester away from the spoils.
It has often been thus with Gloucester. Good in the long-term, but on the big day such a let-down. It's the third time in six years they've topped the regular season table, but there is scant silverware to show for it. You could excuse it if the Heineken Cup had interfered, but there too, the men from Kingsholm flatter to deceive.
Perhaps it is the Heineken Cup that helps maintain intensity at the end of a season. Perhaps the mental training of all those Test-match atmospheres helps a team back in the normal domestic arena. Perhaps if Gloucester had managed to conquer a couple more parts of Europe, they'd have conquered England too.
Gloucester have been a work in progress for some time now. The starlet-studded backline, the gnarly pack full of cosmopolitan experience, it's all been painstakingly put together piece by piece. But somehow, with all the money, patience and time invested, the time for forgiving inexperience is over. Ryan Lamb et al must deliver.
But like some of the finest French teams: when you take them away from Kingsholm, they seem to shrink.
Well, they are at Kingsholm this week, and are facing a Leicester team similar in substance to last year's winning model, but differing in strength.
The Tigers sneaked into the semi-finals through the cat flap in the back door, a distinctly average return by their own standards, and with the paucity of performance exacerbated by the failure to do much meaningful in the Heineken Cup either. It has been a tough time at Welford Road for all concerned, and the media has had a field day.
I allude to pressure on Gloucester to deliver, but they do not have the pressure of tradition and divine right that Leicester's fans impose upon their team. There is no question which team is under the greater pressure on Sunday.
Gloucester will field the same starting XV that beat Bath last Saturday to clinch top spot.
Concerns over their injured trio of Mike Tindall, Anthony Allen and Akapusi Qera have eased and all three will feature against the reigning champions.
Tindall limped out of Saturday's 8-6 west country derby win over Bath with an ankle injury, while Allen and Qera have both recovered from shoulder complaints in time to take their place in the side.
"In a defensive performance of last weekend's quality and intensity there were always going to be question marks over certain individuals but we are obviously very pleased everyone has come through," head coach Dean Ryan told www.gloucesterrugby.co.uk
"We tried to get most of our preparation and class room work done to give people enough time to recover in the early part of the week because we had some bumps and bruises.
"The play-offs are a brutal environment but we are learning to operate at a higher level and that is what we must remember. Leicester are an outstanding side because they have been in this situation many times before and it will be nothing new to them.
"But we are in a confident frame of mind given the form and results we have produced in the last few weeks and we must take that forward into Sunday.
"It is up to us to go and produce another performance and if we can do that then I am sure we can create a threat."
Gloucester will make one change from their 22-man squad and that is on the bench: Jack Forster comes into the squad in place of Scotland's Alasdair Dickinson.
Meanwhile. Leicester Tigers have made one change to their line-up for Sunday's match, with Alesana Tuilagi making his return on the wing.
Samoa international Tuilagi comes in after injury to Johne Murphy, but the other 21 players on duty for the thrilling victory over Harlequins at Welford Road last Saturday keep their places for the trip to face the league leaders.
"The team showed great resilience and character in the victory last Saturday and I think the players can take a lot of confidence from that," said under-fire Head Coach Marcelo Loffreda.
"I said we were not going to give up while we still had a chance to qualify for the play-offs. Now it is in our own hands again and we have another opportunity.
"Gloucester have had a good season, they have a strong team and they will have a lot of confidence, but now it all depends on what happens in this game."
Ones to watch:
For Gloucester: James Simpson-Daniel must still be wondering what he has to do to get an England place, and running rings around Leicester would be a nice riposte to those who would ignore him.
For Leicester: Not much has been seen or heard of Aaron Mauger since he headed up to Leicester from New Zealand, and he's certainly been in the shadow of Luke McAlister since they moved after the World Cup. But he is here, and McAlister is not...
Head to head: Glocuester's backs are usually the talking point of their team, but their back-row has added a new dimension to them this season, and Leicester's mix of experience and youth will be a stern test. The battle of the back rows.
Form: Gloucester Rugby topped the Guinness Premiership table for the 3rd time in the past six seasons and are also the best home side in the competition. The only team to defeat Gloucester in the Premiership at Kingsholm this season was today's opponents Leicester on February 9. Gloucester have won six of their last seven semi-final matches in all competitions. Leicester Tigers have reached the playoffs for the 4th successive season, but have lost their last four away matches in the Guinness Premiership since winning at Kingsholm in February. The Tigers have won their last five semi-final encounters in all competitions. The two contenders from last season's Guinness Premiership final at Twickenham have clashed twice in the Premiership this season with each winning a game on opposing soil.
Prediction: Leicester shot their bolt against Quins last week, and it doesn't disguise the transitional period the team is going through after the demands of the World Cup and the change in Head Coach. Will we see the Gloucester finished product this season? Well, they'll be in the final anyway. Gloucester by ten.
The teams:
Gloucester: 15 Iain Balshaw, 14 James Simpson-Daniel, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Lesley Vainikolo, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Rory Lawson, 8 Gareth Delve, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Alex Brown, 4 Marco Bortolami (c), 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Andy Titterrell, 1 Nick Wood.
Replacements: 16 Olivier Azam, 17 Jack Forster, 18 Will James, 19 Luke Narraway, 20 Gareth Cooper, 21 Willie Walker, 22 Mark Foster.
Leicester Tigers: 15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Danny Hipkiss, 12 Aaron Mauger, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Harry Ellis, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Ben Herring, 6 Martin Corry (c), 5 Ben Kay, 4 Marco Wentzel, 3 Julian White, 2 Mefin Davies, 1 Boris Stankovich.
Replacements: 16 George Chuter, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Richard Blaze, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Christophe Laussucq, 21 Sam Vesty, 22 Ayoola Erinle.
Date: Sunday, May 18
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 16:30 (15:30 GMT)
Referee: Dave Pearson
Touch judges: Stuart Terheege, Peter Huckle
Assessor: Ed Morrison
Television match official: Laurie Bryant, Geoff Warren