With fans back and the Lions boss there too, it was all go at Kingsholm
The in-game stat from Gloucester v Harlequins blowing people’s minds
It was meant to be a brilliant return for Gloucester fans, as 1000 Cherry and White supporters were allowed back into Kingsholm last night. But the home side failed to spark as Harlequins nabbeded themselves a top eight place in the Gallagher Premiership, earning them a Champions Cup spot next season.
Losing 28-15 at home would be galling enough too, but amidst Gloucester’s wasteful play this one in-game stat came up on BT Sport’s coverage. You would be forgiven if it made your head hurt.
This is one of the most amazing in-game stats I've ever seen, given the score pic.twitter.com/uHVZGkjovH
— NESW2019 (@nesw2019) September 14, 2020
According to the graphic, at 10-28 down, with 65 minutes played, Gloucester had still put together 46 phases in Quins’ 22. Going the other way, Quins had only needed one phase to hit the 28 points mark.
It cannot be right, sure? Some others questioned the mad figure.
Surely that stat can’t be right? Wtf were they doing? #GLOvHAR @OptaPro ?@rugbycology ? @thedeadballarea ? @daviesGDD ? pic.twitter.com/AxjFA9qfdL
— Brett Igoe (@brettruganalyst) September 14, 2020
It illustrates a match in which Glaws dropped balls with the try-line begging, when Danny Cipriani threw a forward pass to Jonny May when a score looked a certainty, and with scrum-half Stephen Varney throwing an intercept to Quins skipper Stephan Lewies, who romped in for a score.
It was not a good day at the office for Gloucester.
He is unquestionably the solution but there also needs to be balance between playing up front and through 10. If he isn’t making good decisions then he shouldn’t be given the ball for a few plays ? everything going through 10 is so predictable for the top teams to shut down.
— Lawrence Dallaglio (@dallaglio8) September 15, 2020
After the game, Gloucester boss George Skivington said: “It was definitely our worst performance since I’ve arrived at the club.
“We set ourselves up so many times to score points, but we just failed at the last hurdle with the execution. A lot of the things that have been good for us in the last few games weren’t tonight.”
It will be particularly disappointing as the club’s famous supporters were back (in part) to see their team.
Big return: A thousand fans were allowed at Kingsholm (Getty Images)
It was also notable that British & Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland was at the game. With Lions operations manager Alan Phillips beside him, they were casting an eye over some of the talent that could be available to them for the 2021 tour to South Africa.
Eyes up: Warren Gatland, the British & Irish Lions boss, was there (Getty Images)
As the Lions boss embarks on more games around Europe, some of Gloucester’s stars may be wishing that they get another chance in front of him, to show what they’ve got.
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