This Sporting Life

It’ll be a tough test on Saturday for my favoured rugby football outfit, the Gloucester club of Gloucester, Gloucestershire. Injuries will affect selection and key players such as Lamb, Walker, Forrester, Balding and the young prince Simpson-Daniel may be missing from the matchday two-and-twenty. International call-ups will rob the city of numerous fine players including the inspirational skipper Bortolami, his rugged compatriot Nieto, eager Scot Lawson and ebullient English backs Tindall and Morgan. The squad’s depth shall be stretched to its limit against a Worcester Warriors team that is scrapping to retain its Premiership status but I fully expect fringe players such as James, Thomas and Narraway to impose themselves merrily for the cause. A Gloucester win is not guaranteed but I’ll be disappointed if the humdrum and uninspiring Midlanders are not dispatched after a tense battle up front.

News reaches me that two more Scots will be pitching up at Kingsholm next season. Mobile prop Ally Dickinson and full international loosie Al Strokosch are on the way from Edinburgh and I welcome them. It is always pertinent to see what supporters of a player’s current club feel about a particular footballer departing and a forum on The Scotsman’s site bears witness to this: plenty of Edinburgh fans rate these fellows.