Gloucester will tap into the expertise that inspired title-winning turnarounds at Northampton Saints and Bath with a restructure of their leadership team.
The club has announced the appointments of Chris Boyd as technical director and Rob Burgess as general manager before next season, moves which mean that George Skivington will revert from director of rugby to head coach.
Boyd arrived at Northampton in 2018, reaching the Premiership play-offs and winning the Premiership Cup in his first season as director of rugby while nurturing a talented group of homegrown players.
Though he left his role officially in 2022, the New Zealander acted as a mentor for the Saints coaching team who led the side to the Premiership title in 2024. Since then, Boyd has worked with Munster as a performance consultant.
According to Gloucester, his remit at Kingsholm will be “challenging and refining the club’s playing identity” as well as “providing critique on training sessions, advising on tactical priorities and supporting on squad succession planning”. Skivington is to “focus entirely on coaching responsibilities”.
Burgess, a former agent, has held roles with the England national side and the Dragons in Wales. He will return to Gloucester, having held the role of head of rugby operations there in 2009, to manage the heads of medical, performance, analysis, team operations and academy.
The present head of recruitment at Bath, where he has been since 2023, Burgess will also lead that area at Gloucester. He suggested that he had been encouraged to move across the West Country because of the “scope of this new role and the impact it can have”. With Gloucester sitting eighth in the Prem table with only one win from their first ten league matches, the club is evidently eager for a drastic upturn in fortunes.
Gloucester have won only 11 points from their first ten Prem games this season, with a solitary victory against Harlequins in November
PETER NICHOLLS/GETTY IMAGES
“Chris and Rob are two outstanding additions to our rugby structure,” Alex Brown, the Gloucester chief executive, said. “Chris brings extensive experience as a director of rugby in both the Prem and Super Rugby, and his ability to provide high-level strategic clarity will be invaluable as we continue to evolve our rugby model, setting us up for long-term success.
“We are delighted to welcome Rob back to Kingsholm. He brings exceptional leadership, operational expertise and a deep understanding of elite-level rugby environments.”
Gloucester will add the Wales duo of Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan to their playing squad ahead of the 2026-26 campaign, with the scrum half Dan Robson returning from Pau and a pair of locks, Jean Kleyn and Joe Joyce, bolstering the pack.