GLOUCESTER director of rugby George Skivington recalled his captain Lewis Ludlow for yesterday’s derby with Bath having dropped the 30-year-old for the win over Bristol and last weekend’s loss at Sale in favour of 23-year-old openside Harry Taylor.
Ludlow, who has made 219 appearances for Gloucester across 11 seasons and won two England caps in 2021, did not take his omission well and Skivington said he was desperate to make amends in training last week.
“This season it’s really competitive,” Skivington said. “These young players have been working hard for a number of years and we’re now in a position in the back five of the scrum where there’s healthy competition. We can afford to pick game by game who is and isn’t going to play. Last year we fell foul because of how we split the season into going after the cups and letting young lads play in the Premiership. That didn’t breed good competitiveness.
“Harry Taylor had an outstanding pre-season and Lewis will be the first to say his Sarries game wasn’t the level I expect of him.
“I decided to go to Bristol with something different. Harry had a great game and backed it up. Lewis has been wanting to take my head off for two weeks but has had to swallow it. He’s an outstanding leader, he lives and breathes Gloucester, so would play every single game if he could. He’s been giving me daggers every time I’ve walked past him but I think we’ll see the best out of him. I’m excited by the combinations I’ve got.”
Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams took over the captaincy in Ludlow’s absence and Skivington is delighted with how the new half-back pairing with Gareth Anscombe has ignited their potent backline.
“We made 16 line breaks against Sale last weekend and the boys played with a lot of bravery by backing their skills,” said Skivington. “Tomos has done a great job. He’s straight down the line; he works hard and plays hard. He’s a natural leader and has been brilliant captaining the team.”
