Moment in Time: Day it all came right for the Cherry and Whites

Whether they like it or not, Gloucester’s 2002-3 campaign will always be defined by two stunning defeats: the 6-33 reverse at Munster, which they still refer to in Limerick as the ‘miracle match,’ that ended a promising Heineken Cup campaign; and worse, the 3-39 Premiership grand final no-show against Wasps at Twickenham that inflicted the greatest humiliation imaginable on the Kingsholm faithful, memories of which still reverberate painfully around the Shed.
In reality, however, this is grossly unfair. Gloucester’s class of 2002-3, under the astute leadership of former England scrum-half Nigel Melville, were a damned good team. Their mixture of exciting young talents in the shape of James ‘Sinbad’ Simpson-Daniel, Marcel Garvey, Andy Hazell and James Forrester combined with some worldly old heads in Andy Deacon, Rob Fidler and Jake Boer to produce an intoxicating brand of exciting rugby that saw them challenging for honours on all three fronts. What’s more, they were hard-nosed enough to become winners.
Unlike the modern day LV= Cup, the domestic Senior Cup really meant something a decade ago. A development tournament it was not and Gloucester fought hard to get past Exeter, Saracens and Leicester – 16-11 in a tourniquet-tight semi-final at Franklin’s Gardens – to earn the right to turn out in front of a capacity cup final crowd at Twickenham. There they met Northampton and, as Cherry & Whites playmaker Henry Paul recalls, these matches were for real.
“There’s always a bit of a sour taste when people bring up 2003 and our Powergen Cup win largely gets forgotten,” Paul said. “We didn’t get Munster or the Premiership grand final right, we know that and it still hurts, but the Powergen Cup still meant a lot back then and to play in front of 75,000 at Twickenham was a huge thing for us at the time.
“I remember the semi-final well. Leicester turned up with all their stars – Martin Johnson, Ben Kay, Neil Back and Co – and we had to hang in there to beat them, so there was never any danger of us taking the final lightly. There was a real cup final feeling around town and everything was red and white. There was a lot of media and it was a really good time.
“I was quite lucky in that I’d had a career at Bradford Bulls where I’d played in front of massive crowds in Challenge Cup and Super League finals, but for a lot of our guys it was their first time. We had a quality team across the park, with a lot of great young guys interspersed with those who’d been at the club a while but hadn’t won anything, so it was a massive day for the club and we knew that winning the Cup would be the icing on the cake for some.”
Northampton also had plenty to prove. Led by head coach Wayne Smith, who would later go on to coach New Zealand to 2011 World Cup glory, they were a side packed with internationals who were competing strongly at the top of the Premiership. They had lost the previous year’s Powergen Cup final heavily to London Irish and were on a mission to make amends.
“We fancied ourselves after beating Leicester, but Saints were a class side as well and we didn’t take it lightly,” Paul says. “Nigel and the coaching staff really gave it to us in terms of preparation and although we were confident, there were still nerves and doubts.”
The opening half was a thriller. Simpson-Daniel’s early try was cancelled out by Nick Beal, before Garvey put Gloucester ahead just before half-time. But both sides conceded far too many penalties and Saints fly-half Paul Grayson edged his kicking duel with Cherry and Whites marksman Ludovic Mercier to give his side a 22-20 advantage at the break.
Gloucester turned on the power from the restart, however, and after Forrester pounced on 43 minutes to restore his side’s lead, there was only one winner. Mercier kept the scoreboard ticking, Saints failed to score another point and when Simpson-Daniel went over in the final seconds to make it 40-22, a glorious afternoon was complete. Paul recalls: “We took confidence from Jamie’s try and never really looked back. We knew we had the game won before Sinbad’s try but after he scored Tinus Delport, Andy Hazell and I were like little kids jumping up and down. It’s quite embarrassing when I think about it now but there was a tremendous release of tension and huge elation after that game.
“We went back to Kingsholm to celebrate with the fans and each other and all I remember is it being a very long night. Then it was back to the Premiership. We might have lost that grand final to Wasps, but it was still a great year for us in many respects.”
Where are they now: The Class of 2003
1. Trevor Woodman: Won the World Cup with England before joining Sale in 2004, but suffered a neck injury and had to quit in 2005. Moved to Australia, before returning as forwards coach at Wasps, but left this summer.
2. Olivier Azam: Became forwards coach of Toulon in 2011 and now fulfils a similar role at Lyon OU.
3. Andy Deacon: Joined Cinderford as player-coach in 2004 and has been director of rugby there since 2010. Day job as sales manager of Phil Vickery’s Raging Bull clothing firm.
4. Adam Eustace: Joined Llanelli in 2007, but returned for another two years at Gloucester before ending career at Northampton. Now runs EustaceMarfell plumbing.
5. Rob Fidler: Joined Bath that summer, spending five years there before joining Cinderford. Now the forwards coach at Old Patesians RFC.
6. Jake Boer: Retired home to Cape Town in 2006. Now runs the Wacky Bush Lodge.
7. Andy Hazell: Durable flanker enjoyed his benefit season in 2008-9 and is still going strong in front of the Shed.
8. James Forrester: Missed the entire 2007-8 season with a knee injury and was forced to retire. Emigrated to Singapore and now runs UFIT Urban Fitness.
9. Andy Gomarsall: Went on to win the World Cup with England later that year and was a finalist again in 2007. Joined Worcester, then played for Harlequins and Leeds before retiring in 2010. Now runs information and technology company N2S Ltd.
10: Ludovic Mercier: Left for Grenoble that summer, then spent a year at Pau before returning to Gloucester in 2005. Joined Petrarca in 2007 and then Aironi in 2010. Returned to France in 2011 and is still turning out for Federale 2 side St Etienne.
11. James Simpson-Daniel: Unfulfilled talent with England but a legend at Kingsholm and still going strong.
12: Henry Paul: Returned to rugby league in 2006 with Harlequins, before signing for Leeds Carnegie in 2008. Quit in 2010 and went into coaching. Worked with Russia at 2011 World Cup and coached their 7s, now director of rugby at Bradford & Bingley.
13: Terry Fanolua: Joined Brive in 2006, then played for AS Cannes. Still based in France and now plays for and coaches Soyaux-Angouleme.
14: Marcel Garvey: Joined Worcester in 2006 and spent six years at Sixways before moving to Top 14 outfit Castres, with whom he won the French title in May.
15: Tinus Delport: Joined Worcester in 2004 and spent five years at Sixways before ending career as player-coach at Stourbridge. Now a TV pundit and is head coach of Old Patesians.
Replacements
Junior Paramore (for Hazell):  Moved to Bedford as player-coach in 2004, then coached Luton, Bournemouth and Basingstoke. Now a rugby coach at Canford School in Wimborne.
Robert Todd (for Paul): Joined Sale in 2004 but contracted skin cancer and had to quit in 2006. Recovered and now works alongside Junior Paramore at Canford School.