Joe Joyce, set for his debut season at Gloucester Rugby, is preparing to face one of the toughest competition battles of his career. The 32-year-old lock, who joined Gloucester from Connacht Rugby this summer, is well aware of the strength and depth in the club’s second row.
Despite the departure of Argentinian international Matias Alemanno, Gloucester have strengthened their squad by signing Springbok World Cup winner Jean Kleyn from Munster. Additionally, the club boasts two promising internationals: England’s Arthur Clark and Wales’ Freddie Thomas.
Rather than being intimidated by this wealth of talent, Joyce is embracing the challenge. He said, “I’ve always had competition, but on paper this is probably up there. JK [Jean Kleyn] is a World Cup winner and a big presence – I played against him at Munster. Then you have Arthur, the vice-captain on the rise, and Freddie Thomas, who played against the Springboks this summer. Danny Eite is another player coming through strongly, albeit recovering from injury.”
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Joyce sees parallels between this competition and his time at Bristol Bears, where the second row included the likes of Chris Vui, Dave Attwood and Ed Holmes, forming a strong group.
“Staying fit is half the battle,” added Joyce. “You have to stay fit, train hard, and take every chance. That’s how I’ve always managed to play.”
Pre-season is often physically demanding, and with several rival locks either being managed carefully or sidelined, Joyce has shouldered a significant portion of the workload in training under new forwards coach Brett Deacon. He believes this will give him an advantage as the new campaign approaches, with Gloucester’s opening match set against his former club Bristol Bears in the Premiership Rugby Cup in just a couple of weeks.
“I’ve been lucky that several locks aren’t training at the moment, so I’ve been able to do all the reps,” Joyce explained. “We might not get the chance to swap out during sessions, which has been really tough mentally and physically because I have to stay in all the time. But it should give me a head start. If I’m on the pitch consistently through pre-season and start well in the Premiership Cup, then it’ll put me in a good position.”