GLOUCESTER MISSED OUT on their last chance to qualify for next season’s Heineken Cup as Saracens took the honours in the much maligned Zurich Wildcard Final at Twickenham. Saracens finished fifth in the Premiership, ten points above the Cherry and Whites and their 24-16 victory gave them a hat-trick of wins over Gloucester this season so they could feel justified with their qualification.
Once again the sorry saga of missed kicks at goal will haunt Gloucester — no specialised kicker, five misses again this week but all in all we did not do enough to deserve victory.
A mere scattering of spectators littered about the vastness of Twickenham is not exactly the ideal atmosphere for an exciting encounter and so it turned out.
Gloucester did take an early lead, thanks to two successful penalties from Duncan McRae but that was as good as it got. Gloucester huffed and puffed but all too often the ball went backwards and forwards across the three-quarter line but with nothing to show for all the efforts.
Once Saracens had sorted out their defence there was little or no penetration from the Cherry and Whites. The one notable exception was Gloucester captain Adam Balding who as ever, led by example with real determination.
Gloucester had more than their fair share of possession and territory but rarely looked like creating the vital breaks against a well organised cover defence.
In marked contrast Saracens created two tries in the first half with no further scores from Gloucester. Saracens first try came from their skipper Hugh Vyvyan who forced his way over after winger Ben Johnston had done the initial damage and the Jackson conversion put Saracens into a lead they never looked like losing.
Saracens had a distinct edge on the wings with Johnston and Tongan Tevita Vaikona outplaying their counterparts James Bailey and Seti Kiole. Kiole was again exposed with a lack of positional sense and poor handling skills, whilst an unhappy Bailey departed early in the second period with a leg injury.
Glen Jackson added a penalty before Saracens scored their second try through Johnston who worked his way through a fragmented defence to touch down under the posts. The conversion gave Saracens a comfortable 17-6 lead as Gloucester’s only chances of scoring through penalties were frittered away.
In marked comparison to Saracens, Gloucester’s defence was very much hit and miss. Not enough hits and far too many missed tackles.
Terry Fanolua replaced the hapless Kiole for the second half and consequently Gloucester did at last show signs of breaking the opposition defence down. Gloucester clawed their way back when a well weighted cross-kick from McRae was touched down by full-back Brad Davies and that score was followed by a try from lock Adam Eustace who was eventually credited after a lengthy deliberation by the video official. Needless to say the conversions were missed but the score had narrowed to 17-16 going into the final ten minutes.
Sadly for Gloucester there was to be no fairy tale ending, as Vaikona put in a strong burst to take him through some inept cover to score Saracens’ third try, again converted by Jackson and it was virtually all over bar the shouting.
Unlike Saracens who have progressed steadily through 2005, a disappointing ending to a disappointing season for Gloucester which has seen more downs than ups.
The depressing run of long-term injuries to key players which has gone on seemingly unabated throughout the season is well chronicled but it has served to illustrate the frailties of the squad with a lack of genuine strength in depth which has exposed the limitations of some players, especially those out playing of position and the difference in class for the inexperienced younger players.
Compared with the winning Powergen Cup side of 2003 at Twickenham, the present side is underpowered and under-resourced
Regrettably the better players who have departed have not been replaced by players of an equal standard and this is reflected in the final mid-table position in the Zurich Premiership and the resultant failure to qualify for next season’s Heineken Cup.
No new stand and no Heineken Cup European rugby at Kingsholm — after such let-downs let us hope that things can only get better.
The investment in the recruitment of some proven top quality players, not Southern Hemisphere 'has-beens', would be a good start.
The funding of the proposed new stand is another matter and may well take a good deal longer though.
We live in hope.