Gloucester Rugby

Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

Gloucester Rugby

Full name	Gloucester Rugby
Union	Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s)	Cherry and Whites
Founded	1873; 150 years ago (1873)
Location	Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England
Region	South West England
Ground(s)	Kingsholm Stadium (Capacity: 16,115)
Chairman	Martin St Quinton
CEO	Alex Brown (interim)
Director of Rugby	George Skivington
Coach(es)	George Skivington
Captain(s)	Lewis Ludlow
Most caps	Nick Wood (204)
Top scorer	Ludovic Mercier (855)
Most tries	James Simpson-Daniel (63)
League(s)	Premiership Rugby
2022–23	10th
1st kit 2nd kit European kit
Largest win
Gloucester 103–3 Bucuresti (Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester) 29 October 2005
Official website
www.gloucesterrugby.co.uk

The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches at Kingsholm Stadium, on the fringes of the city centre. Their biggest successes are winning the Anglo-Welsh Cup five times: in 1971–72, 1977–78, 1981–82, 2002–03 and 2010–11; and the European Challenge Cup twice: in 2005–06 and 2014–15.

The club has no official nickname but are often referred to as the Cherry and Whites by supporters and the media in reference to the traditional Cherry and white hooped shirts worn by the team. Matches with local rivals Bath and Bristol Bears are referred to as West Country derbies.

History

Formation & Early Years

The club was formed in 1873 after a meeting at the Spread Eagle Hotel with the announcement in the Gloucester Journal: "A football club (as rugby was then called) has been formed in this city – the season's operations begin at the Spa on the first Tuesday in next month."^[1] a team was then organised to play the college school, which was actually played on the current Kingsholm ground.^[2]

The club left the Spa after an argument with the cricket club that they were ground sharing with. During the winter, the Rugby Club had used a salt mixture to remove frost from the pitch, resulting in the death of the grass on the wicket. Gloucester were no longer welcome at the Spa ground.^[3] They then acquired lands from the Castle Grim Estate for £4,000 in 1891 & have played home fixtures at this site ever since, in the area known as Kingsholm.^[4]

Season Records 1873-1924
The Spa Ground Years, 1873-1891
Season	Captain	P	W	L	D		Season	Captain	P	W	L	D		Season	Captain	P	W	L	D
1873-84	F. Hartley	No records available					1891-92	T. Bagwell	34	24	6	4		1909-10	A. Hudson	38	23	8	7
1874-75							1892-93	W. George	30	16	11	3		1910-11		40	25	13	2
1875-76							1893-94	J. Hanman	29	18	10	1		1911-12		40	24	12	4
1876-77	J. F. Brown	11	6	3	2		1894-95		28	14	11	3		1912-13		39	21	14	4
1877-78		15	10	3	2		1895-96	C. Williams	26	8	12	6		1913-14	G. Holford	37	25	10	2
1878-79		15	10	3	2		1896-97	W. H. Taylor	31	18	8	5		1914-15	No fixtures due to WW1
1879-80		16	14	2	0		1897-98		35	24	5	6		1915-16
1880-81		13	7	3	3		1898-99		34	27	6	1		1916-17
1881-82		19	14	5	0		1899-1900		32	23	7	2		1917-18
1882-83		14	11	0	3		1900-01	G. Romans	34	24	5	5		1918-19
1883-84	H. J. Boughton	19	15	2	2		1901-02		34	24	7	3		1919-20	G. Holford	33	19	12	2
1884-85		20	11	7	2		1902-03		35	19	15	1		1920-21	F. Webb	37	25	10	2
1885-86	T. G. Smith	17	13	3	1		1903-04		34	18	14	2		1921-22	S. Smart	41	24	14	3
1886-87		19	10	7	2		1904-05	G. Romans & W. Johns	32	23	11	2		1922-23	F. W. Ayliffe	43	27	13	3
1887-88		19	10	6	3		1905-06	W. Johns	37	26	8	3		1923-24	T. Millington	49	24	14	1
1888-89		22	14	3	5		1906-07	D. R. Gent	34	21	11	2
1889-90	C. E. Brown	25	14	8	3		1907-08	G. Vears	34	23	9	2
1890-91	T. Bagwell	26	21	2	3		1908-09	A. Hudson	37	23	10	4

Continued Successes & the Dawn of Professionalism

In 1972, Gloucester RFC won the first-ever National Knock-Out Competition. Having beaten Bath, Bristol, London Welsh and Coventry (all away from home) in earlier rounds, they beat Moseley in a Twickenham final that was marred by violence and the sending off of Moseley's Nigel Horton.^[1]

In 1978, Gloucester RFC won the first ever John Player Cup, defeating Leicester Tigers in another final noted for violent play both on and off the pitch at Twickenham Stadium.^[1]

Despite the two cup wins of the 1970s, and a shared trophy in 1982, Gloucester were soon to find themselves in the shadow of Bath, the rising force from down the A46.^[1]

In 1989, Gloucester came close to winning the 'double' but failed to win either competition, losing to Wasps for the league title and losing the cup final 48–6 to Bath.^[1]

Professionalism finally came in 1995, but Gloucester was without a major investor, and lost ground in terms of player recruitment and revenue acquisition. But this did not prevent the club from transforming itself into a limited company.^[1]

The Early Professional Era

Tom Walkinshaw bought the club in 1997. After two full seasons at the helm, Richard Hill was replaced as director of rugby by former France captain Philippe Saint-André.^[5]

In 1999–2000, a third-place finish took Gloucester into the Heineken Cup. With Phil Vickery, Trevor Woodman, Kingsley Jones and All Blacks legend Ian Jones forming the basis of a formidable pack, Gloucester Rugby reached the semi-finals.

In 2003, Gloucester won their first cup in 25 years, under new coach Nigel Melville.^[6]

During the 2002–03 season, Gloucester finished the league in first place, 15 points ahead of the next best club. Under the new Premiership playoff system, Gloucester Rugby were required to play a single knock-out match to determine the Premiership champions. Despite a significant rest period of three weeks, Gloucester lost the final to Wasps and have thus never been crowned English domestic champions. Nigel Melville left the club and was replaced by Dean Ryan for the 2005–06 season.

At the start of the 2005 season, owner Tom Walkinshaw made several changes to modernise the club. 'Gloucester Rugby Football Club' was renamed 'Gloucester Rugby' and, due to copyright issues, no longer used the City Coat of Arms as the club's crest (as the crest didn't belong to the club, so unofficial merchandise was freely available).

The 2005–06 season saw an improvement in the club's fortunes, although they did not qualify for the play-offs, they were strong contenders and lost out on the last day of the regular season. They also won silverware in the European Challenge Cup, defeating London Irish in a tense final that went into extra time.^[7]

Gloucester Rugby finished 1st in the 2006–07 Guinness Premiership table. Both Leicester and Gloucester Rugby tied with 71 points, but Gloucester Rugby gained first place with more games won.^[8] Gloucester Rugby defeated Saracens in the semi-final at Kingsholm, 50–9, and faced Leicester Tigers in the final.^[9] Gloucester lost 44–16.

2008–Present

Martin St Quinton, an office equipment and telecoms entrepreneur ^[10] acquired 25% of the club in 2008, and became vice chairman, with a focus on increasing sponsorship and other non-playing related areas.^[11][12]

Gloucester Rugby began the 2007–08 Guinness Premiership campaign as favourites, and came top of the league to book a place in the play-off semi-final at Kingsholm. Leicester Tigers won the match 25–26, marking Gloucester's third Premiership play-off defeat.^[13]

Gloucester reached the EDF Energy Cup Final in the 2008–09 season, losing to Cardiff at Twickenham.^[14]

On 11 June 2009, Dean Ryan left Gloucester by mutual consent and was replaced by Bryan Redpath as their new head coach.^[15]

Tragedy struck the club on 12 December 2010, when popular club owner Tom Walkinshaw died from cancer at the age of 64.^[16] David McKnight was appointed non-executive chairman in April 2011, who guided Tom's son Ryan, who inherited the club. A memorial service held at Gloucester Cathedral for Tom was attended by hundreds of fans.^[17]

Gloucester won the Anglo-Welsh cup in the 2010–11 season, beating Newcastle Falcons 34–7 in the final at Franklins' Gardens.^[18] They also made the Premiership play-offs this season, losing in the Semi-final to Saracens at Vicarage Road.^[19]

On 17 April 2012, Bryan Redpath announced his resignation as Gloucester head coach with immediate effect, months before the end of the 2011–12 season.^[20] In June 2012, Gloucester announced former Scarlets coach Nigel Davies as their new director of rugby.^[21]

On 13 November 2012, Gloucester hosted an International match against Fiji as part of the 2012 Autumn Internationals. The match was held at Kingsholm Stadium and Gloucester won 31–29.^[22] On 12 November 2013, Gloucester hosted an International match against Japan, as part of the 2013 Autumn Internationals. Gloucester won 40–5.^[23]

After two poor seasons towards the end of the 2013–14 season, Nigel Davies departed Gloucester with immediate effect.^[24] On 7 June 2014, Gloucester appointed David Humphreys as their new director of rugby, with Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher confirmed as their head coach as of July 2014.^[25][26] During the 2014–15 season, Gloucester won the European Rugby Challenge Cup at Twickenham Stoop, beating Edinburgh 19–13 in the final.^[27]

In 2016, Martin St Quinton acquired 100% full ownership of the club to become new chairman of Gloucester Rugby with immediate effect.^[28]

On 6 March 2017, Laurie Fisher left Gloucester by mutual consent before the end of the 2016–17 season.^[29] On 3 April 2017, he was replaced by Lions coach Johan Ackermann as Gloucester's new head coach.^[30] During the 2016–17 season, Gloucester reach the final of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, losing 17–25 to Stade Francais at Murrayfield.^[31] During the 2017–18 season, Gloucester reach the final of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, marking three European finals in four seasons, but lost to Cardiff 31–30 at San Mames Stadium, Bilbao.^[32]

On 15 May 2020, Johan Ackermann announced his departure from Gloucester to become the new head coach at NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes based in Japan.^[33] On 2 June 2020, David Humphreys announced he will leave Gloucester after six seasons as their director of rugby, a month after Ackermann's departure.^[34]

On 27 June 2020, Gloucester announced London Irish Forwards Coach George Skivington as their new head coach, with Alex Brown promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer. This means Skivington handles the playing side of his new job whilst Brown focuses on rugby related matters like recruitment and regulatory issues at Gloucester.^[35]

In July 2023, Brown was appointed interim CEO following the resignation of Lance Bradley.^[36]

Women's team

Main article: Gloucester-Hartpury Women

In 2014, Gloucester Rugby and Hartpury College came together to found Gloucester-Hartpury Women's Rugby Football Club. They are run under the jurisdiction of Gloucester Rugby. The CEO is former Gloucester player James Forrester.^[37] Gloucester-Hartpury have won the 2016–17 season of the Women's Championship Midlands 2 as well as the 2022–23 season of the Premier 15s, with the latter being the highest level of women's rugby union in England.^[38][39]

Stadium

Main article: Kingsholm Stadium

Gloucester Rugby play home matches at Kingsholm Stadium. The club left the Spa Ground for Kingsholm when it bought an area of the Castle Grim Estate for £4,000 in 1891. In that year, Gloucester Rugby Football Club opened the "Sixpenny" stand, which later became known as the Shed.

Kingsholm's capacity was further increased to 20,000 in 1926 when a grandstand was added to the stadium at a cost of £2,500, containing 1,750 seats. However, six years later, it was destroyed by fire. There were plans proposed to increase the seating capacity of the stadium to 7,000. However, it remained a proposal, although the grandstand was replaced, terracing in the Sixpenny, and at the Tummp end was preferred, and indeed, more affordable in the early 20th century.^[40]

Like the clubs of the Welsh mining valleys, Gloucester Rugby traditionally drew its support and its playing strength from local working-class communities. The Shed, so-called because it looks like a cow shed, became known as such in the 1950s. Gloucester Rugby's fanzine, 'Shed Head' refers to it as 'the cauldron of fear'. The Shed is standing-only terracing that runs continuously down one touchline, opposite the point where visiting teams emerge from the dressing rooms. Its low tin roof amplifies the effect of a passionate support which has been mentioned by commentators sitting above it during live broadcasts. This, together with a historically good home record, contributes to the ground also being nicknamed 'Castle Grim'.^[40]

In October 2003, Gloucester Rugby launched 'Project Kingsholm'. 'The Kingsholm Supporters Mutual' (KSM) was set up by Gloucester Rugby Football Club in October 2003, to help fundraise towards 'Project Kingsholm', the redevelopment of Gloucester's entire ground at a cost of £6,000,000, and the launch of a supporters shares rights issue.^[41] The idea was to be similar to the development at Franklins Gardens, home of Northampton Saints RFC, although on a bigger scale, incorporating both seating and terracing. Despite the KSM meeting the fundraising targets, Gloucester Rugby abandoned all plans.

In 2006, the club announced it would be making an extension to Kingsholm, bringing the stadium capacity up to 16,500. This was mainly to comply with Premier Rugby's minimum seat number requirements. The old main Grandstand (which was both terracing and seating) was later replaced by a new all seater structure, while terracing on the Worcester Street end of the ground was developed into an all seater stand, known as the 'Buildbase' stand at the time.^[40]

In January 2007, the club announced plans to redevelop The Shed terracing to all seater. This was intended to enable the entire stadium to become all-seating. A large number of supporters did not want to see this happen under the proposals put forward by Gloucester Rugby, and a poster campaign under the name of 'Save Our Shed' or 'SOS' was initiated by the Gloucester Citizen newspaper. Posters were held up by supporters standing in the Shed, on camera during a televised Heineken Cup match against Leinster at Kingsholm. T-shirts were also made independently by supporters, with the slogan 'Save Our Shed' printed on them.^[40] The campaign did not protest the redevelopment of the Shed, rather the plans put forward at the time, which were to replace all terracing with seats, leaving no alternative anywhere in the ground, despite such a large demand for terracing.

In September 2008, chairman Tom Walkinshaw confirmed there were plans for the Shed to be redeveloped, but it would remain as a terrace (with an increased capacity of 6,000), with hospitality units above it.^[42] However, as of the 2010–11 season, the need and desire for redeveloping the Shed decreased with the above-mentioned plans proving to be conjecture, and as such abandoned, have never come into effect and do not appear to for the foreseeable future.

2007 also saw the club reject the proposal of a new 20,000 all seater stadium in an area of the city nicknamed 'The Railway Triangle'. This was intended to be shared with the local football side. Kingsholm was also suggested in October 2007 as a possible temporary home for Gloucester City after their stadium Meadow Park was flooded and then abandoned following the summer floods. This move was, however, rejected by Gloucester Rugby Chairman, Tom Walkinshaw.^[43]

In 2017, Gloucester Rugby announced that the Kingsholm Stadium will include a megastore and even museum.^[44]

Colours

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gloucester Rugby's traditional colours.

 

The Gloucester Rugby crest used from 2005 to 2018

According to local legend, it was decided that the club's colour was to be entirely navy blue, yet on an away trip they realised they had forgotten to bring sufficient Navy strip for the entire team. Travelling en route via Painswick, they stopped off at the local rugby club and asked to borrow a strip. Painswick RFC loaned them 15 of their cherry-and-white jerseys, the Gloucester side went on to win the away fixture and failed to return the shirts to Painswick, adopting the colours as their own. In 2003, to celebrate Gloucester RFC's 130th anniversary, Gloucester RFC returned the favour and donated Painswick RFC an entire new set of first team colours. Painswick RFC refer to themselves as "The Original Cherry and Whites" in reference to the incident.^[45]

For the start of the 2000–01 season, the club introduced new shirts which no longer featured the cherry-and-white hoops, instead featuring a largely red shirt with white sleeves.^[46]

The hoops returned in the 2001–02 season, with thin white hoops.^[47] In the 2005–06 season, the club moved away from traditional hoops again. The New Jersey was predominantly red, with white panelling on the side in a 'ladder' effect.^[48] This was dubbed the 'Spiderman' or 'Arsenal' kit by supporters. The new kit also abandoned the traditional navy blue shorts and socks, with the new design becoming all red. On the release of the 2005–06 shirt there was a degree of disappointment in Gloucester Rugby's decision to move away from the hooped jersey again (a design generally associated with traditional rugby shirts), as this was a dramatic move away from the classic Gloucester Rugby design. After the new 2005–06 shirt was released, 'Hudsons & Co' of Gloucester city centre, released a classic, plain cherry-and-white-hooped Gloucester Rugby jersey, manufactured by Cotton Traders (who supplied Gloucester Rugby jerseys prior to the 2007–08 season, when the manufacture of kit was taken over by RugbyTech), albeit an unofficial jersey which is not associated with the club, the shirt proved popular with fans unhappy with the official shirt. On the back of this success, many of the Public Houses in the Kingsholm area also began selling shirts with the classic hoops. Although these shirts do not display the name 'Gloucester Rugby', due to copyright, the Hudson variety were labelled 'Gloucester Rugby Football Club' while the pub versions used the title 'Cherry and Whites'. Both designs used the traditional cherry-and-white hoops, with the title under the Gloucester city coat of arms. As such many of the fans who disapproved of the new original design were able to purchase this classic design instead.^[49]

A number of fans commented on the irony that, whilst the new crest and shirt design were originally designed in order to prevent unofficial merchandise, they have in fact increased the number of fans turning to unofficial shirts. Gloucester Rugby released its own, official, supporters shirt displaying the classic hooped design with the new club crest above the date of the club's inception '1873'. For the start of the 2009–10 season, the club returned the first team jersey design to the cherry-and-white hoops.

In 2018, Gloucester revealed a new logo.^[50]

Kits

For many years, Cotton Oxford and Cotton Traders provided the playing kits for Gloucester. Between the 2007–08 and the 2010–11 seasons, RugbyTech supplied their kits, and between the 2011–12 season and the 2015-16 Kooga supplied the kits.

Australian kit manufacturer XBlades were the kit provider, between 2016 and 2017 and the end of the 2018–19 season.^[51] From the 2019–20 season onwards Oxen Sports supplied the kit.^[52] BiGDUG, a Gloucester-based shelving company,^[53] remained the front of shirt sponsor for the 2022–23 season. while Hartpury appears on each shoulder. Kärcher feature on the lower back of the 2022-23 shirt as well as on the back of the playing shorts. Laithwaites Wine is on the upper back of the shirt. Appsbroker and Google Cloud are the sponsors on the left sleeve. Gloucester's 2022–23 away shirt contains the same sponsors as the home shirt however it is blue in colour. The European shirt it pink with Bendac, an LED display supplier taking the place of BiGDUG.^[54]

In February 2023, Gloucester announced that for the first Slater Cup game held at Kingsholm that they would play in a limited edition Slater Cup shirt. The club also announced that £10 from every shirt sold would go directly to the Slater family to aid Ed's treatment, and adaptations to his home and provide valuable financial support to his family following his diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease in July 2022

The shirt was designed by Ed and his family, and contains touches such as '4Dad' above the club logo, while the classic cherries of the 'Cherry & Whites' also appear on the bottom of the shirt. The Slater Cup trophy is on the left sleeve, while a portrait of Ed appears on the right. The classic Gloucester Rugby red remains as the core colour of the new strip, with the number 4, Ed's position, placed on the front.

Nickname

Gloucester are referred to by fans and media alike as the Cherry and Whites, a reference to the club's colours. Although this is not an official nickname, the club themselves regularly use the nickname in marketing and community messaging, as well as the players through social media.^[55] In the early 2010s, the club released an official fan shirt with imagery of cherries and the city's Cathedral on. The history of this nickname being used can be traced to local media references in the 1920s, when the nickname the "Red and Whites" was used, before evolving into the now familiar "Cherry and Whites" nickname during the 1950s/60s.^[56]

In 2005, the club decided to abandon its "Cherry and Whites" nickname and changed themselves to Lions instead but no official change was made during the year.^[57]

Another unofficial nickname for the club was "The Elver Eaters',^[58] although that name is a distant memory mused over by the club's oldest and longest supporters.

Season summaries

	Premiership				Domestic Cup		European Cup
Season	Competition	Final Position	Points	Play-Offs	Competition	Performance	Competition	Performance
1987–88	Courage League Division 1	5th	29	N/A	John Player Cup	4th round	No competition	N/A
1988–89	Courage League Division 1	2nd	15	N/A	Pilkington Cup	Semi-final	No competition	N/A
1989–90	Courage League Division 1	2nd	17	N/A	Pilkington Cup	Runners-up	No competition	N/A
1990–91	Courage League Division 1	6th	12	N/A	Pilkington Cup	4th round	No competition	N/A
1991–92	Courage League Division 1	4th	15	N/A	Pilkington Cup	Semi-final	No competition	N/A
1992–93	Courage League Division 1	5th	12	N/A	Pilkington Cup	3rd round	No competition	N/A
1993–94	Courage League Division 1	8th	14	N/A	Pilkington Cup	Quarter-final	No competition	N/A
1994–95	Courage League Division 1	7th	13	N/A	Pilkington Cup	4th round	No competition	N/A
1995–96	Courage League Division 1	8th	12	N/A	Pilkington Cup	Semi-final	No English teams	N/A
1996–97	Courage League Division 1	7th	23	N/A	Pilkington Cup	Semi-final	Challenge Cup	4th in pool
1997–98	Allied Dunbar Premiership	6th	23	N/A	Tetley's Bitter Cup	5th round	Challenge Cup	Quarter-final
					C&G Cup	Champions
1998–99	Allied Dunbar Premiership	10th	19	N/A	Tetley's Bitter Cup	Semi-final	No English teams	N/A
					C&G Cup	Champions
1999–2000	Allied Dunbar Premiership	3rd	40	N/A	Tetley's Bitter Cup	Quarter-final	Challenge Cup	2nd in pool
2000–01	Zurich Premiership	7th	48	N/A	Tetley's Bitter Cup	5th round	Heineken Cup	Semi-final
2001–02	Zurich Premiership	3rd	68	N/A	Powergen Cup	Quarter-final	Challenge Cup	Semi-final
2002–03	Zurich Premiership	1st	82	Runners-up	Powergen Cup	Champions	Heineken Cup	3rd in pool
2003–04	Zurich Premiership	4th	63	-	Powergen Cup	6th round	Heineken Cup	Quarter-final
2004–05	Zurich Premiership	6th	47	-	Powergen Cup	Semi-final	Heineken Cup	2nd in pool
2005–06	Guinness Premiership	5th	59	-	Powergen Cup	2nd in pool	Challenge Cup	Champions
2006–07	Guinness Premiership	1st	71	Runners-up	EDF Energy Cup	2nd in pool	Heineken Cup	3rd in pool
2007–08	Guinness Premiership	1st	74	Semi-final	EDF Energy Cup	2nd in pool	Heineken Cup	Quarter-final
2008–09	Guinness Premiership	6th	57	-	EDF Energy Cup	Runners-up	Heineken Cup	3rd in pool
2009–10	Guinness Premiership	7th	48	-	LV= Cup	Runners-up	Challenge Cup*	Quarter-final*
2010–11	Aviva Premiership	3rd	67	Semi-final	LV= Cup	Champions	Challenge Cup	2nd in pool
2011–12	Aviva Premiership	9th	44	-	LV= Cup	3rd in pool	Heineken Cup	3rd in pool
2012–13	Aviva Premiership	5th	60	-	LV= Cup	4th in pool	Challenge Cup	Quarter-final
2013–14	Aviva Premiership	9th	44	-	LV= Cup	2nd in pool	Challenge Cup*	Quarter-final*
2014–15	Aviva Premiership	9th	48	-	LV= Cup	2nd in pool	Challenge Cup	Champions
2015–16	Aviva Premiership	8th	49	-	No competition	N/A	Challenge Cup	Quarter-final
2016–17	Aviva Premiership	9th	46	-	Anglo-Welsh Cup	2nd in pool	Challenge Cup	Runners-up
2017–18	Aviva Premiership	7th	56	-	Anglo-Welsh Cup	2nd in pool	Challenge Cup	Runners-up
2018–19	Gallagher Premiership	3rd	68	Semi-final	Premiership Cup	3rd in pool	Champions Cup	4th in pool
2019–20	Gallagher Premiership	7th	46	–	Premiership Cup	4th in pool	Champions Cup	2nd in pool
2020–21	Gallagher Premiership	11th	45	–	No competition	N/A	Champions Cup	Round of 16
2021-22	Gallagher Premiership	5th	73	–	Premiership Cup	Semi-final	Challenge Cup	Quarter-final
2022-23	Gallagher Premiership	10th	41	–	Premiership Cup	2nd in pool	Champions Cup	Round of 16
2023-24	Gallagher Premiership				Premiership Cup		Challenge Cup

Gold background denotes champions
Silver background denotes runners-up
Pink background denotes relegated

* After dropping into the competition from the Champions Cup/Heineken Cup

2022-23 season home attendances

Premiership
Round	Team	Attendance
Round 1	Wasps	11,124
Round 4	Worcester	0^[a]
Round 6	Bristol Bears	14,030
Round 8	Exeter Chiefs	14,500
Round 10	Newcastle Falcons	11,501
Round 12	Northampton Saints	11,200
Round 14	London Irish	16,000
Round 15	Saracens	13,417
Round 17	Harlequins	16,600
Round 20	Leicester Tigers	13,623
Round 22	Bath	16,500
Round 23	Sale Sharks	12,672

European Rugby Champions Cup
Round	Team	Attendance
Round 1	Bordeaux	9,117
Round 3	Leinster	13,164

Club honours

Gloucester Rugby

• Premiership Rugby
  • Runners-up: (4) 1988–89, 1989–90, 2002–03, 2006–07
• National Merit Table 'A'
  • Champions: (1) 1985-86
• Zurich Premiership Play-Off
  • Champions: (1) 2001-02
• European Challenge Cup
  • Champions: (2) 2005–06, 2014–15
  • Runners-up: (2) 2016–17, 2017–18
• Anglo-Welsh Cup
  • Champions: (5) 1971–72, 1977–78, 1981–82, 2002–03, 2010–11
  • Runners-up: (3) 1989–90, 2008–09, 2009–10
• C&G Cup
  • Champions: (2) 1997–98, 1998–99
• Premiership Rugby Sevens Series
  • Champions: (2) 2013, 2014
  • Runners-up: (1) 2012

Gloucester United

• Premiership Rugby Shield
  • Runners-up: (1) 2016–17

Friendly

• Middlesex Sevens
  • Champions: (1) 2005

Current squad

For player movements before or during the 2023–24 season, see List of 2023–24 Premiership Rugby transfers § Gloucester.

The Gloucester Rugby squad for the 2023–24 season is:^[60]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union George McGuigan Hooker   England Jack Singleton Hooker   England Santiago Socino Hooker   Argentina Fraser Balmain Prop   England Harry Elrington Prop   England Jamal Ford-Robinson Prop   England Kirill Gotovtsev Prop   Russia Ciaran Knight Prop   England Val Rapava-Ruskin Prop   England Alex Seville Prop   England Mayco Vivas Prop   Argentina Matías Alemanno Lock   Argentina Freddie Clarke Lock   England Ben Donnell Lock   England Cameron Jordan Lock   England Ruan Ackermann Back row   South Africa Jack Clement Back row   England Lewis Ludlow (c) Back row   England Zach Mercer Back row   England Albert Tuisue Back row   Fiji

Player Position Union Charlie Chapman Scrum-half   Scotland Caolan Englefield Scrum-half   Ireland Stephen Varney Scrum-half   Italy George Barton Fly-half   England Adam Hastings Fly-half   Scotland Seb Atkinson Centre   England Mark Atkinson Centre   England Chris Harris Centre   Scotland Max Llewellyn Centre   Wales Jack Reeves Centre   England Michael Dykes Wing   England Alex Hearle Wing   England Jonny May Wing   England Louis Rees-Zammit Wing   Wales Ollie Thorley Wing   England Santiago Carreras Fullback   Argentina Lloyd Evans Fullback   England

Elite Academy squad

The Gloucester Rugby Elite Academy squad is:^[60]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Seb Blake Hooker   England Archie MacArthur Prop   England Afolabi Fasogbon Prop   England Arthur Clark Lock   England Harry Taylor Back row   England Freddie Thomas Back row   England

Player Position Union Monty Bradbury Fly-half   England Rory Taylor Fly-half   England Louis Hillman-Cooper Centre   England Jacob Morris Wing   England Josh Hathaway Fullback   Wales

Academy squad

The Gloucester Rugby Academy squad is:^[60]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Gareth Blackmore Hooker   South Africa Ethan Hunt Hooker   England Fred Ma'a Prop   England Danny Eite Lock   England Rob Nixon Back row   England Naquan Smith Back row   England

Player Position Union Matthew Jones Scrum-half   England Tom Miles Scrum-half   England Morgan Adderly-Jones Fly-half   England Tom Riman Centre   England Reece Dunn Fullback   England Will Gilderson Fullback   England Ioan Jones Fullback   England

Club staff

Coaching Team^[61]

• George Skivington — Head Coach
• Dominic Waldouck – Rugby Strategy & Defence Coach
• Trevor Woodman – Assistant Forwards and Academy Transition Coach
• James Lightfoot Brown — Attack Coach
• Tim Taylor – Assistant Backs and Academy Transition Coach
• T. Rhys Thomas – Forwards Transition Coach

Academy

• Stuart Bradfield - Academy Pathway Manager
• Gareth Delve - Academy Manager
• George Edwards - Academy Analyst
• Conor Gallagher - Junior Academy Physiotherapist
• Carl Hogg - Director of Academy and Development
• Tom Jameson - Education Officer
• Jordan Murton - Lead Academy Strength & Conditioning Coach
• Matt Teague – Academy Head Coach U17/18s
• James Wild - Academy Strength & Conditioning Coach

Notable former players

See also: Category:Gloucester Rugby players

Below is a non-exhaustive list of former players for the club who have been either club record holders or have been particularly notable during their time at the club.

•   Mike Teague, played in 1991 Rugby World Cup Final while at Gloucester
•   Phil Vickery, won 2003 Rugby World Cup Final while at Gloucester
•   Trevor Woodman, won 2003 Rugby World Cup Final while at Gloucester
•   John Gordon A'Bear, international rugby union player with the British and Irish Lions, and Gloucester's youngest ever captain
•   Ludovic Mercier, club points^[62] and goal-kick^[63] record holder
•   Franco Mostert, won 2019 Rugby World Cup while playing for Gloucester
•   Tony Lewis, former England cricket captain^[64]

Lions Tourists

The following Gloucester players have been selected for the Lions tours while at the club:

• Walter Jesse Jackson (1891)
• Frank Stout (1899 & 1903)
• Tom Voyce (1924)
• John Gordon A'Bear (1936)
• P. C. Hordern (1936)
• Don Rutherford (1966)
• Mike Burton (1974)
• Phil Blakeway (1980)
• Steve Boyle (1983)
• Mike Teague (1989 & 1993)
• Phil Vickery (2001)
• Billy Twelvetrees (2013)
• Ross Moriarty (2017)
• Greig Laidlaw (2017)
• Chris Harris (2021)
• Louis Rees-Zammit (2021)

Rugby World Cup

The following are players which have represented their countries at the Rugby World Cup whilst playing for Gloucester:

Tournament	Players selected	England players	Other national team players
1991	1	Mike Teague
1995	2	Richard West	Ian Smith
1999	4	Neil McCarthy, Phil Vickery	Junior Paramore, Terry Fanolua
2003	6	Phil Vickery, Trevor Woodman, Andy Gomarsall	Rodrigo Roncero  , Thinus Delport  , Terry Fanolua
2007	5		Will James, Gareth Cooper  , Marco Bortolami (c)  , Rory Lawson, Chris Paterson
2011	7	Mike Tindall	Scott Lawson, Jim Hamilton, Alasdair Strokosch, Rory Lawson  , Akapusi Qera  , Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu
2015	8	Ben Morgan, Jonny May	Ross Moriarty, James Hook  , Greig Laidlaw (c)  , Mariano Galarza  , Sione Kalamafoni, David Halaifonua
2019	6	Willi Heinz, Jonny May	Chris Harris  , Jake Polledri, Callum Braley  , Franco Mostert
2023	7	Jonny May	Stephen Varney  , Louis Rees-Zammit  , Albert Tuisue  , Chris Harris  , Matías Alemanno, Santiago Carreras

References

1. (PDF). Gloucester Rugby Heritage. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
2. "Club History – Through the decades" (PDF). Gloucester Rugby Heritage. (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
3. "Club History - 1881 to 1918". Gloucester Athletic Club. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
4. "1891: Agreement for the Tenancy of the Castle Grim estate". Gloucester Rugby Heritage. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
5. Trow, Paul (29 August 1998). "Rugby Union: Playing and Paying: Guide to the Prospects of the Premiership Clubs". The Independent. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
6. Kitson, Robert (6 April 2003). "Gloucester given hope by cup win amid financial ruins". The Guardian. from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
7. "Gloucester 36-34 London Irish". BBC Sport. BBC News. 21 May 2006. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
8. Kitson, Robert (14 May 2007). "Tigers' irresistible force points to treble destiny". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
9. "Creating your own class GRFC timeline" (PDF). Gloucester Rugby Heritage. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
10. "Racecourse Committee".
11. . Bristol Post. 21 October 2008. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014.
12. "Plenty of problems for St Quinton to tackle". The Daily Telegraph. 13 June 2009. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
13. "Gloucester 25-26 Leicester". BBC Sport. BBC News. 18 May 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
14. "Cardiff Blues demolish Gloucester to claim EDF trophy". The Guardian. 18 April 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
15. "Gloucester replace Dean Ryan with Bryan Redpath". Telegraph. 11 June 2009. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
16. "Gloucester mourn owner Tom Walkinshaw". BBC Sport. BBC News. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
17. "Gloucester name David McKnight as new chairman". BBC Sport. BBC News. 19 April 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
18. "Gloucester claim Anglo-Welsh Cup". ESPN. 20 March 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
19. Kitson, Robert (15 May 2011). "Jacques Burger gives Saracens the edge over Gloucester in semi-final". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
20. "Bryan Redpath resigns as Gloucester head coach". Independent. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
21. "Nigel Davies named as Gloucester coach after leaving Scarlets". BBC Sport. 2 June 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
22. Verdier, Nick (14 November 2012). "Young Gloucester side wins thriller against Fiji". Autumn Internationals. The Rugby Paper. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
23. "Gloucester thrash Japan XV". Planet Rugby. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
24. "Gloucester sack Nigel Davies". The Rugby Paper. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
25. "GLOUCESTER APPOINT DAVID HUMPHREYS AS DIRECTOR OF RUGBY". Gloucester Rugby. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
26. "GLOUCESTER RUGBY CONFIRM LAURIE FISHER AS CLUB'S NEW HEAD COACH". Gloucester Rugby. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
27. Mitchell, Brendon (1 May 2015). "European Challenge Cup final: Edinburgh 13-19 Gloucester". BBC Sport. BBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
28. "Martin St Quinton takes full ownership of Gloucester Rugby". Gloucester Rugby. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
29. "Laurie Fisher: Gloucester head coach leaves Premiership club". BBC Sport. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
30. "JOHAN ACKERMANN NAMED AS GLOUCESTER RUGBY HEAD COACH". Gloucester Rugby. 3 April 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
31. Mitchell, Brendon (12 May 2017). "European Challenge Cup final: Gloucester 17-25 Stade Francais". BBC Sport. BBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
32. "Challenge Cup Final preview: Gloucester Rugby v Cardiff Blues". Premiership Rugby. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
33. "GLOUCESTER RUGBY ANNOUNCE THE DEPARTURE OF HEAD COACH JOHAN ACKERMANN". Gloucester Rugby. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
34. "DAVID HUMPHREYS TO LEAVE GLOUCESTER RUGBY". Gloucester Rugby. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
35. "GLOUCESTER RUGBY ANNOUNCE THE APPOINTMENT OF GEORGE SKIVINGTON AS HEAD COACH". Gloucester Rugby. 27 June 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
36. "Lance Bradley: Gloucester chief executive leaves Premiership club". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
37. "James Forrester appointed Gloucester-Hartpury CEO". Gloucester Rugby. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
38. "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Table 2016-2017". RFU. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
39. "Gloucester-Hartpury 34-19 Exeter Chiefs: Cherry and Whites win Premier 15s final at 'Queensholm'". BBC Sport. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
40. "History of Gloucester Rugby Ground" (PDF). Gloucester Rugby Heritage. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
41. "Gloucester launch Project Kingsholm". ESPN. 25 September 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
42. "Walkinshaw's plan for the shed". BBC Sport. BBC News. 9 September 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
43. "History of Gloucester Rugby Ground" (PDF). Gloucester Rugby Heritage. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
44. Iles, Robert (6 September 2017). "Gloucester Rugby plan new megastore and even museum in major Kingsholm changes". Retrieved 19 May 2018.
45. "Painswick RFC".
46. "Gloucester rugby shirt 2000 – 2001".
47. "Gloucester rugby shirt 2001 – 2002".
48. "Gloucester rugby shirt 2005 – 2007".
49. "Gloucester Rugby Shirts through time" (PDF). Gloucester Rugby Heritage. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
50. "Gloucester reveal new logo – and will replace old tattoos". BBC Sport. BBC News. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
51. Jones-Davies, Ross (1 April 2015). "Gloucester Rugby confirm X-Blades as kit supplier". SportsPro Media. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
52. Iles, Robert (6 June 2019). "Gloucester will have new kit next season with Oxen on board". GloucestershireLive. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
53. "New main sponsor for Gloucester Rugby revealed". www.punchline-gloucester.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
54. "Bendac become official European partner of Gloucester Rugby". Gloucester Rugby. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
55. "Gloucester Rugby Shirts through time" (PDF). Gloucester Rugby Heritage. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
56. "Brand Guidelines" (PDF). 1. Gloucester Rugby. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
57. Rees, Paul (30 September 2005). "Gloucester want to rebrand cherry and whites as lions". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group]. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
58. Gloucester Rugby Football Club Retrieved 19 May 2018.
59. "Worcester Warriors' Premiership games against Gloucester and Harlequins cancelled". Sky Sports. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
60. "Gloucester Rugby confirmed 2023/24 squad". 10 July 2023.
61. "Gloucester Rugby Confirm 2023/24 Coaching Structure". Gloucester Rugby. Gloucester Rugby. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
62. . www.gloucesterrugby.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
63. . www.gloucesterrugby.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 February 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
64. Tony Lewis Retrieved 19 May 2018.

1. Match cancelled because Worcester were unable to fulfill the fixture after entering into administration.^[59]

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gloucester Rugby.

• Official website  
• Live streaming commentary on all games and lots more from BBC Gloucestershire
• Gloucester Rugby Heritage
• Visitor information on Gloucester for travelling fans – details of where to stay and eating out in Gloucester
• Premiership Rugby Official Website