Gloucester coach George Skivington on pain of form slump

Under pressure, George Skivington said Gloucester had endured the toughest spell of his decade-long coaching career after their miserable form continued with defeat at Newcastle Red Bulls on Friday.

The Cherry-Whites, who missed the play-offs by two points last season, have lost eight of the nine Prem matches they have played so far this season.

The club is close to bringing in a new replacement for Skivington to ease the director of rugby’s responsibilities and enable him to focus more on day-to-day coaching.

“It hurts and it hurts a lot,” Skivington said of his side’s form.

“I don’t feel any animosity towards anyone right now who isn’t my biggest fan; I really understand that, I support the teams, it’s a sport.

“But if you step back and look at what we’re dealing with, I think it’s difficult.

“There’s no one wearing this more than me right now.”

To emphasize this point, Skivington described a “not-so-nice” conversation he had recently with his wife.

She said he told her that he was “never home” and that he “didn’t see her anymore.”

“That’s the situation right now,” he added. “So if anyone thinks I’m sitting back in the car, enjoying a glass of wine and driving home, that’s just not happening.

“Professional sport is tough and when it’s good it’s great, but this is definitely the toughest spell I’ve ever dealt with.

“It’s not a very enjoyable situation for us at the moment and I appreciate the fans and their thoughts, but it will get better.”

There were many injuries at Gloucester. Last year’s Premiership player of the year, Tomos Williams, was a late withdrawal from the starting eleven to face Newcastle; Ben Loader, Max Llewellyn, Will Joseph, Jack Singleton and Ben Redshaw were also left out of the squad.

Will Crane started as a hooker at Kingston Park, having joined from Hartpury just a few days earlier; 18-year-old outside center Will Knight took part in the league matches in the last three rounds.