Gloucester Rugby may see a slight reprieve in their injury crisis with the possible return of Scottish number eight Jack Mann, who has been sidelined with a long-term knee injury. Mann’s potential comeback could provide some much-needed depth for a squad severely stretched ahead of Friday’s West Country derby against Bath.
Mann, 26, has played just four games since joining Gloucester from Glasgow Warriors this summer, due to a knee injury sustained in October. His inclusion would likely be a direct replacement for Jack Clement, who impressed with a try in Saturday’s 31-14 Champions Cup defeat to Toulon but failed a Head Injury Assessment (HIA). Following the standard 10-day return-to-play protocol for concussions, Clement is expected to miss the upcoming match.
While Tomos Williams has returned from a leg injury to strengthen the scrum-half position, and new hooker Manaaki Boyle-Tiatia has had time to settle in after arriving from New Zealand, Gloucester’s second-row stocks are cause for concern.
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Saturday’s match exposed this vulnerability, with Gloucester naming no specialist second-row forwards on the bench. Only Matias Alemanno and 22-year-old Danny Eite started in the second row, with Eite making his first appearance in nearly a year after a serious knee injury. Young flanker Deian Gwynne was also pressed into lock duty after limited preparation.
Director of Rugby George Skivington expressed frustration over the injuries: “Nobody else is fit in the second row. Cam [Jordan] and Freddie [Thomas] both got hurt in the last game. I can’t tell you what is going on with this injury stuff; it is bonkers.”
Regarding Thomas’ hamstring injury, Skivington gave a cautiously optimistic update: “Freddie’s had some scans. It doesn’t look horrendous, but he doesn’t feel great. He’d be hoping to go with Wales, but I don’t think he’ll make the start of the Six Nations. It’s not severe from what we can see.”
Thomas, named in Steve Tandy’s Wales squad for the Six Nations, is unlikely to feature in the opening match against England. Adding to Gloucester’s woes, England international second row Arthur Clark remains suspended following an incident during the game at Newcastle Falcons.
Looking ahead to the Bath clash, Skivington warned of a tough challenge: “It is all backs-against-the-wall games now. You can’t feel sorry for yourself. Bath are the kings of fundamentals. Their power game is huge, their kicking game is huge, their set piece is huge, and they batter you down before scoring some nice tries. The challenge next week is massive, but we have got to learn quickly.”
The list of unavailable Gloucester players from last Friday includes Seb Blake, Manaaki Boyle-Tiatia, Arthur Clark, Josiah Edwards-Giraud, Caolan Englefield, Jamal Ford-Robinson, Jack Innard, Cam Jordan, Will Joseph, Max Llewellyn, Ben Loader, Ben Redshaw, Rob Russell, Jack Singleton, Freddie Thomas, and Ollie Thorley.