Gloucester Rugby Rugby Sports

Preview – Leicester Tigers Host Gloucester Rugby As Gloucester Look To Climb Premiership Table

Gloucester Rugby head to Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Sunday, October 20 to take on Leicester Tigers in round five of the Gallagher Premiership.

This game is played as the latest Slater Cup fixture in honour of former club captain Ed Slater, who continues to fight motor neurone disease. The Slater Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the match between Gloucester and Leicester twice every season in Premiership Rugby. It is named after the former captain of both clubs Ed Slater. 

Gloucester come into this game with only one win all season against Bristol, beating them 44-41 in round three of the Gallagher Premiership. Leicester Tigers are in fourth place in the standings heading into the weekend, having secured a 24-8 victory over Northampton Saints in the East Midlands derby last weekend.

George Skivington Looks Ahead:

When asked about this upcoming fixture, Skivington told the Gloucester Rugby YouTube channel: β€œYou know, Leicester is always a tough game.  I think, like you say there, they looked like Leicester of old.

β€œThey were physical, they were on it, they made good decisions, (Speaking about the previous fixture where Leicester beat Northampton 24-8), but you know, they got a comfortable win in the end, which probably wasn’t expected to be that either, it’s a real challenge!”

The Gloucester boss was asked how much the Slater Cup means to him and the players: β€œI think getting the awareness around MND is important, and, you know, not just for Ed, but for everyone who’s affected by it.

Ultimately it was great to win the Slater Cup last year just to get the trophy and bring it back we’ve been wanting to do that, and there’s no doubt we want to win it again.

“The bigger picture piece is Ed’s a great friend and a brilliant player for both clubs, and we want to support him.”

Line Ups:

Home Side Leicester Tigers – Leicester Tigers Remain unchanged. Josh Basset comes onto the wing, and Izaia Perese partners Joseph Woodward in the centre. Academy product Tom Manz earns a place on the bench this week after impressing for Nottingham in the Championship. Manz will make his league debut if required by the replacements.

Away side Gloucester Rugby – Kirill Gotovtsev returns to the front row alongside Ciaran Knight and Jack Singleton. In the second row, Arthur Clark and Freddie Thomas overcome knocks to start in the number eight role. Jack Clement, Lewis Ludlow and Zach Mercer form the back row once again.

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