Gloucester welcome Bath in the Premiership Rugby U18 Academy League as they look to pick up a crucial victory to move within a point of their West Country rivals with finals day looming.
The Cherry and Whites are coming off a big win away to Exeter Chiefs which saw them win 47-29.
Academy manager and former Gloucester and Bath back row, Gareth Delve expressed his delight at his side picking up their first win of the season.
“It was a great win for the boys, obviously a tough trip for them, a few hours down to Devon on the bus and always a tough challenge against a big Exeter team.
“So, I’m really happy with the lads, a bit of just reward after a couple of close encounters, the draw and the close loss to Quins, so it was nice to get over the line for the boys.”
Gloucester will be hoping to use this momentum as they look ahead to a visit from a strong Bath side who have only lost one out of their four games.
That loss would come against the top of the league and unbeaten Harlequins who seem destined to win the title.
The Cherry and Whites will be hoping to use the momentum from their victory at Truro College to get a result against their local rivals.
“It’s a massive boost, I think it’s more so for the lads to get that confidence, that sort of acknowledgement that they’re moving in the right direction.
“A huge part of what we’re doing is based around their development and then pushing on to bigger opportunities in the future.
“So great for them to get the win under the belt, and now move on to another really tough challenge against Bath, who won it last year, with perennial challenges at the top of the table.
“With it being a local derby for the boys, it’s a great chance for them to get their teeth into at the Hartpury University Stadium”.
Talking about his side’s preparation ahead of this fixture, despite the rivalry Delve insists that they don’t increase the intensity too much and instead continue the focus on their development.
“It’s still based upon layering those skill sets onto the boys, so, we won’t ramp up too much. obviously, with Dec and Steam, we’ll be running the boys and then working on a couple of fixes from last Saturday.
“We know that Bath will bring, so I think the main thing tonight will be we can a little bit of the emotion, but also just managing so that the boys are going into the game well prepped and ready for what they’ll face come Saturday.
Having played on both sides of this rivalry during his career, Delve will be hoping that this Saturday it’ll be Gloucester taking home the points.
