GLOUCESTER skipper Willi Heinz said there has been intense competition from the squad in training as the Cherry and Whites look to seize an Aviva Premiership play-off spot.

If Gloucester finish in the top four and book a semi-final place, it will be the first time since the 2010-11 campaign that they have managed to finish so high.

Heinz led his side to victory over Leicester Tigers on Saturday, and the scrum-half revealed that there has been a lot of pressure on players to keep their places in the side over the past couple of weeks.

He said: “We had a really good week’s preparation going into this game. There was a massive edge in training. We have a fit squad so guys that aren’t playing are hungry and have put us under a lot of pressure and prepared us well throughout the week.

“I am just really proud of the effort that the boys put in (against Leicester). I thought we played with really good ambition despite the wet conditions being a little tricky.

“With the pitch being heavy too, we still managed to play some really good rugby and cause Leicester some problems.”

Gloucester have already won more games this season than they did in the whole of the 2016-17 campaign when they finished ninth.

But Heinz said: “The Premiership is so close and there are upsets all over the place. I am not getting carried away about where we are in the table. We are just taking it day by day and get ourselves in good spots to perform.”

The Cherry and Whites now have the last unbeaten home Premiership record this season, after Exeter were upset by Worcester.