Gloucester Rugby will be naming strong teams – starting with Bristol Bears on Sunday

Gloucester’s Director of Rugby George Skivington (Photo by Bob Bradford – CameraSport via Getty Images)

George Skivington admitted Gloucester Rugby are set to name relatively strong teams in the PREM Rugby Cup over the next month as his side look to get that winning feeling back.

The Cherry and Whites head to Ashton Gate on Sunday in the development competition, sitting top of Pool A with three wins out of four games after a successful block in the Autumn.

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But things have been much tougher since, with Gloucester losing their last seven games in the Gallagher PREM and Champions Cup. With that in mind, and with nearly half his squad still unavailable with injury and international commitments, Gloucester’s under-fire director of rugby outlined the objectives he is looking for from the competition.

Skivington said: “We have now got roughly two months until we have a run of eight PREM games, and by the time we get there, I would like to be really, really sharp and take that into the back end of the PREM.”

The Cherry and Whites took a positive step in that direction on Friday night, taking the reigning Gallagher PREM champions to the wire at Kingsholm before losing 30-26, but crucially gaining two bonus points from the game to move up to eighth in the table above Harlequins, who were thrashed 7-34 at home by Leicester Tigers.

Skivington continued: “We are still not going to be flush for numbers for the first few games of the PREM Cup, so our side isn’t going to change drastically, but I will try and give guys who are fit and on the edges of the squad some game time.

“I think it is an opportunity for us to shift focus, do a bit of bonding, which is not under as much pressure. We have bonded unbelievably well under serious pressure, week in, week out. I would like to get our connections going and hone in on certain areas of our game, so when we come out of the PREM Cup, we are in a really good spot.”

The Cherry and Whites will, of course, be without Wales star Tomos Williams during the Six Nations, and Seb Atkinson and Arthur Clark have been named in England’s senior squad for the tournament.

A host of young Cherry and Whites players have also been selected for the U20s Six Nations, with centre Will Knight, lock Freddie Ogden-Metherell and hooker Kealan Freeman-Price all involved for England in a pre-tournament warm-up defeat against Bath United on Saturday.

Lock Deian Gwynne has been named co-captain of the Wales U20s squad and is joined by flanker Caio James, second row Oscar Rees and scrum half Luca Woodyatt.

Skivington concluded: “We also need to freshen a few of the lads up. There are a few lads like Luds [Lewis Ludlow] who have gone to war with the club, and he hurts as much as anyone when we are not winning. A few guys like that we need to look after.

“But it is slightly different to where we were last year in the PREM Cup, when we had a pretty healthy squad and could just rotate how we wanted. We have got a few things we want to go after.”