Rugby column by former Gloucester captain and coach Keith Richardson (From Gazette Series)

Rugby column by former Gloucester captain and coach Keith Richardson

12:23pm Thursday 11th March 2010 in

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GLOUCESTER went down 24-19 to London Wasps on Sunday.

An away win was not too far away for the Cherry and Whites, but it is always an uphill task if you start off by allowing the opponents to build up an early 13-0 lead.

Wasps would have been a very determined outfit after last week’s defeat against Leeds, but Gloucester managed to claw back to 13-13 in the second half.

Big games turn on very small things and you can always say, “If only.” Next time, Taylor may well kick the penalty he missed from 30 metres and just about in front; Delve will win the race for the try after a break from a scrum and a delicate chip ahead that Van Gisbergen got to first. But neither was successful and the win was agonisingly close, in spite of a Tindall solo effort try that promised much.

The difference in the end was a Lemi try for Wasps on 71 minutes, but these are the games that have to edge your way if you are to get into the play-off positions.

Wasps go fourth, but Gloucester are far from down and out. Their best efforts, if and when reproduced, could be just about enough to claw a top six place. They are now on 32 points with Harlequins and the nerves must be well shredded at Newcastle (28), Leeds (27), Worcester (25) and Sale (23). The bottom end of the league is no place for faint hearts now.

Professional rugby threw up two very different scenarios last week, but they both tell an interesting tale. James Haskell was required back in Paris by his club, Stade Francais, at the same time that he was required by England for training. It is amazing that the contract situation should allow any doubt as to who can do what, yet it has happened and the poor old player is pig in the middle while Anglo-French hostilities break out again after hundreds of years of (relative) peace.

When the game went professional, the general feeling was that England should have got the top players contracted before the clubs got organised. Unfortunately, there was not the money at the time as the RFU had just embarked on a massive building and stadium improvement programme, which meant that the game was always going to be trying to lock the stable door after the horse had bolted.

We ended up with the best stadium in the world without a team to grace it. And the clubs will always require large sums to alleviate the pain when they lose their best players to international duty.

Leicester were next to show their hand with the news that they were to let Lewis Moody free from the club to join Bath. This was a massive statement of confidence and the Tigers are to wave goodbye to an international who has been part of their success since he was at school.

I doubt if many other clubs would have the clout to pull such a stunt, but you can see where they are coming from. Salary caps are tightening and there will be more stringent policing of that cap; international players are away from the club scene for too long, so the money spent on them is not likely to be a good investment for the club; and there is a little matter of the Rugby World Cup, which will denude the clubs of their main assets (players) for even longer periods.

That single decision by Leicester worried me more than some of their playing successes, for they showed that they have well and truly caught up with what professional attitudes and decisions are all about. Even Sir Alex at Man U would have been proud to have been associated with that one.

Do you agree with Keith? Have your say below.