Gloucester rugby director George Skivington praised England centre Seb Atkinson’s influential performance as he marked his return from injury with a commanding 26-15 Gallagher Premiership victory over Harlequins.
After a strong outing on England’s summer tour to Argentina, Atkinson was sidelined by knee and hip injuries sustained during the Premiership clash at Bath in mid-October, forcing him to miss the Quilter Autumn Nations Series. However, his comeback was seamless as Gloucester secured their first league win of the season in their sixth attempt.
“Having Seb back and his energy on the field was fantastic. He’s someone you want to build the team around,” said Skivington. “He’s tough, deals well with challenges, and controls what he can. Seb is a huge part of this team and a true leader—his presence on the pitch is vital.”
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Full-back Ben Redshaw shone with two tries, while flanker Lewis Ludlow and wing Ollie Thorley also crossed the try line. Fly-half Ross Byrne contributed with three conversions, helping Gloucester secure a crucial bonus-point win—their first league victory since May.
Skivington added, “We’ve tightened up on the basics and returned to what made us strong last season. Winning today was essential, but equally important was that we began to look like the Gloucester team we know. That had been missing in our previous five league matches.”
Harlequins, led by England star Marcus Smith, remained competitive in the first half, trailing by just two points at halftime thanks to tries from wing Cadan Murley and captain Alex Dombrandt, both converted by Smith. Still, their attacking flair waned in the second half, with unforced errors and lost momentum allowing Gloucester to pull away comfortably.
Quins’ senior coach Jason Gilmore expressed his frustration: “The try just before halftime created a gap that we couldn’t close. In the second half, we struggled to build momentum. We turned the ball over too easily under pressure, lost the aerial battle, and made too many unforced errors. It’s immensely frustrating because we wanted to bring our best performance to this game.”