RugbyRebels

Gloucester Rugby matchday squad
15 Ben Redshaw
14 Rob Russell*
13 Will Joseph
12 Seb Atkinson
11 Ollie Thorley
10 Ross Byrne
9 Tomos Williams (C)
1 Ciaran Knight
2 Seb Blake
3 Kirill Gotovtsev
4 Freddie Thomas
5 Matias Alemanno
6 Deian Gwynne*
7 Lewis Ludlow
8 Will Trenholm

16 Kealan Freeman-Price*
17 Val Rapava Ruskin
18 Afo Fasogbon
19 Cam Jordan
20 Josh Basham
21 Mikey Austin
22 Charlie Atkinson
23 Jack Cotgreave

*Denotes Gallagher PREM debut.

Unavailable for selection
Will Butler, Arthur Clark, Jack Clement, Josiah Edwards Giraud, Caolan Englefield, Jamal Ford-Robinson, Josh Hathaway, Jack Innard, Nepo Lauala, Max Llewellyn, Ben Loader, Jack Mann, Harry Taylor, Jack Singleton, James Venter.

Injury update: Caolan Englefield
Caolan Englefield suffered a shoulder injury whilst playing for England A against Spain. Englefield has not required surgical intervention but will spend a period of time on the sidelines to recover before returning in the New Year.


The messiah returns! Or last month's messiah.

And a debut potentially for 18 year old hooker Freeman-Price! And a definite prem debut for 19 year old Welshman Gwynne!

15. Cameron Anderson (23)
14. Rodrigo Isgró (16)
13. Oscar Beard (80)
12. Jarrod Evans (38)
11. Cadan Murley (134)
10. Marcus Smith (171)
9. Will Porter (49)
1. Fin Baxter (75)
2. Jack Walker (96)
3. Titi Lamositele (23)
4. Stephan Lewies (85)
5. Kieran Treadwell (11)
6. Chandler Cunningham-South (35)
7. Will Evans (121)
8. Alex Dombrandt (C) (160)

IMPACT PLAYERS:
16. George Turner (5)
17. Boris Wenger (3)
18. Pedro Delgado (3)
19. Guido Petti Pagadizàbal (3)
20. Jack Kenningham (79)
21. Lucas Friday (4)
22. Luke Northmore (85)
23. Nick David (76)

Unavailable: James Chisholm, Ben Waghorn, Stu Townsend, Tyrone Green, Max Green, Jamie Benson, Harry Williams, Simon Kerrod, Jordan Els, Ollie Streeter

Great to see Friday back!

Big game for Glos who need a win to get their season going.

Great to see Atkinson back.

Nice try from redshaw.

Quins dreadful as is becoming the norm. Boggles the mind that CCS thought staying there was sensible.

Trenholm brilliant for Gloucs. Joseph, Redshaw. Thorley and Atkinson all very good too.

Captainhaircut wrote: ↑Sat Nov 29, 2025 4:42 pm Quins dreadful as is becoming the norm. Boggles the mind that CCS thought staying there was sensible.

Trenholm brilliant for Gloucs. Joseph, Redshaw. Thorley and Atkinson all very good too.

Something badly off kilter at Quins. They have the talent to be a lot better than that.

Glos good value for the win. Taken a while for Tremholm to get a chance (24 now) but he was terrific.

Andre showed what quins are missing today against Wales. They haven't really been the same after he left.

astralweeks wrote: ↑Sat Nov 29, 2025 5:51 pm Andre showed what quins are missing today against Wales. They haven't really been the same after he left.

A £500k a season centre will normally make a significant difference.

I'm unsure why Northmore was on the bench whilst Jarrod Evans started at 12.

FKAS wrote: ↑Sat Nov 29, 2025 8:27 pm

astralweeks wrote: ↑Sat Nov 29, 2025 5:51 pm Andre showed what quins are missing today against Wales. They haven't really been the same after he left.

A £500k a season centre will normally make a significant difference.

I'm unsure why Northmore was on the bench whilst Jarrod Evans started at 12.

A confusion shared by every Quins fan. He's obviously not the reason we're underperforming in almost every game but he's certainly a weak link whether at 10 or 12

If I was Marcus's manager/advisor, I'd suggest he refuses to play anywhere but FH for at least a year. Quins could do worse than concentrate on simply getting the ball into his hands as quickly and as often as possible. Arguably, our best FH is losing his form and confidence because both club and country are not establishing a platform to get the best out of him.

Waghorn being back fit will give them that ballast they’re lacking. Side note of Friday’s return. He looked crisp and lively.

Trenholm was superb! Thorley, Atkinson, Joseph and Redshaw had good games. You wouldn’t have guessed Atkinson had been out for weeks.

Really excited to see what Redshaw can do with better players around him. He took some really good high balls, which was a bit of a flaw when he came through at Falcons.

Oakboy wrote: ↑Sun Nov 30, 2025 8:38 am If I was Marcus's manager/advisor, I'd suggest he refuses to play anywhere but FH for at least a year. Quins could do worse than concentrate on simply getting the ball into his hands as quickly and as often as possible. Arguably, our best FH is losing his form and confidence because both club and country are not establishing a platform to get the best out of him.

That is exactly what they concentrate on. They do it with zero go forward from the pack and without a massive Andre sized safety net outside Smith.

What they need to concentrate on is building some sort of passable pack. CCS carried the ball 4 times yesterday- no idea what his purpose in the side is if not to carry as his breakdown work is sub par.

On Smith, I’m not sure the odd game playing full back for England is having such a big impact. Is the theory here that he’s completely forgot how to play 10 because in the last 12 months he’s played full back about 5 times?

Not to put words in Dors' mouth*, but I think the point he was making is that Marcus should refuse to play 15 for England and stay in the fight for the 10 shirt with Ford and Finn

*But I will anyway

If he refuses to cover FB off the bench, then he's out of the 23.
He's not starting ahead of Ford or Fin, and if he's not more versatile than them, then what's the point of him

Which Tyler wrote: ↑Sun Nov 30, 2025 10:07 am If he refuses to cover FB off the bench, then he's out of the 23.
He's not starting ahead of Ford or Fin, and if he's not more versatile than them, then what's the point of him

In his present form, he's 3rd in line for the 10 shirt. At his best, he's No1, IMO. He can still do things the other two can't. If we carry on like this I think Marcus will continue to deteriorate. I'd not pick him on a 6:2 bench once Furbank is back fit and on form anyway. I'd prefer a winger/FB like Arundell.

In the modern game versatility is increasingly being considered a very useful commodity. Had Marcus announced earlier this year he was refusing to play 15 he wouldn't have toured as a Lion and would have less England caps. He's third choice 10 for a reason, he's failed to develop the weaker areas of his game despite being an incredibly talented player.

Quins are in a muddle they have built up quite a big forward pack but insist on playing "the Quins way" which doesn't really make the most of it. I'd say they needed a really strong DOR to come in and shake things up but I'm not sure there's one around that could force the culture change that is probably needed.

FKAS wrote: ↑Sun Nov 30, 2025 10:59 am In the modern game versatility is increasingly being considered a very useful commodity. Had Marcus announced earlier this year he was refusing to play 15 he wouldn't have toured as a Lion and would have less England caps. He's third choice 10 for a reason, he's failed to develop the weaker areas of his game despite being an incredibly talented player.

Yes, that's fair comment. Unfortunately, I think we are heading for the RWC r/u spot unless we can find something different and special with which to confound SA. Just following the trend will leave us behind them in the muscle-off-the-bench game. We have to run them ragged in the last 20 assuming that we can stay in touch for 60. I think Marcus, at his best, provides an extra spark. He has the raw pace and the eye for a gap that Ford and Fin just don't have. At crunch time we need to play to win not 'game-manage' not to lose. It's all marginal but I'd put Marcus in the 10 shirt for the 6N backed with a declared faith in his ability. We should not forget how good he was the last time he was trusted quite a few months back.

FKAS wrote: ↑Sun Nov 30, 2025 10:59 am In the modern game versatility is increasingly being considered a very useful commodity. Had Marcus announced earlier this year he was refusing to play 15 he wouldn't have toured as a Lion and would have less England caps. He's third choice 10 for a reason, he's failed to develop the weaker areas of his game despite being an incredibly talented player.

Quins are in a muddle they have built up quite a big forward pack but insist on playing "the Quins way" which doesn't really make the most of it. I'd say they needed a really strong DOR to come in and shake things up but I'm not sure there's one around that could force the culture change that is probably needed.

The stupid part is that may well have seen him as England’s starting 10 for the Argentina series, rather than being an unused utility player for the Lions, then who knows what happens in terms of confidence and cohesion after that. The inconsistency feels like a bit of a killer for him.

I think the gulf between Marcus and Fin in the ‘starting test fly-half’ sort of role is massively overstated to be honest, though I doubt Fin is particularly happy about what the Lions tour has done for his standing either.

As for Quins I think you’re right there needs to be a major shake up. The flakey, hail-Mary stuff falls to bits as soon as a couple of elements are missing/misifiring.

Mikey Brown wrote: ↑Sun Nov 30, 2025 3:58 pm

FKAS wrote: ↑Sun Nov 30, 2025 10:59 am In the modern game versatility is increasingly being considered a very useful commodity. Had Marcus announced earlier this year he was refusing to play 15 he wouldn't have toured as a Lion and would have less England caps. He's third choice 10 for a reason, he's failed to develop the weaker areas of his game despite being an incredibly talented player.

Quins are in a muddle they have built up quite a big forward pack but insist on playing "the Quins way" which doesn't really make the most of it. I'd say they needed a really strong DOR to come in and shake things up but I'm not sure there's one around that could force the culture change that is probably needed.

The stupid part is that may well have seen him as England’s starting 10 for the Argentina series, rather than being an unused utility player for the Lions, then who knows what happens in terms of confidence and cohesion after that. The inconsistency feels like a bit of a killer for him.

I think the gulf between Marcus and Fin in the ‘starting test fly-half’ sort of role is massively overstated to be honest, though I doubt Fin is particularly happy about what the Lions tour has done for his standing either.

As for Quins I think you’re right there needs to be a major shake up. The flakey, hail-Mary stuff falls to bits as soon as a couple of elements are missing/misifiring.

We might have seen at 10 in the summer but possibly only if Ford went with the Lions instead, which seems unlikely given his lack of positional versatility. Ford finished last season's Prem extremely well. Certainly the form England 10 at the end of the season. Marcus did somewhat stutter into the end of the season, I remember seeing him live at Welford Road and he wasn't close to being at his best.

He's worked with Nick Evans a long time now. Nick was a sensational flyhalf back in the day but I do wonder if a new attack coach/mentor at club level might challenge Marcus a bit more and see him raise his game under the challenge.

Marcus should head off to France. England aren't going to use him properly and quins are a shambles. Just take the money elsewhere and show everyone that he's comfortably the best fly half in the world. Let ford kick everything and fin throw the odd cut-back.

France would probably be a great move for Smith given that they generally play off 9 and he wouldn’t need to control things tactically.

England definitely aren’t going to use him “properly” considering they’ve won 11 in a row without him playing at 10.

Why would you want one of our best players going to france? Anything can happen injury and form wise between now and the WC, you lot are all old enough to know that.