GloucesterDirector of rugby Nigel Melville Sadly, they have lost ground in the horse-trading, and while Duncan McRae, that peculiar combination of victim and villain, should do them a turn at outside-half, the World Cup will deny them three months' worth of Trevor Woodman and Phil Vickery, thereby diluting the 100-proof spirit up front. Captain: Jake BoerThey should be reigning champions, and had they not lost their two Frenchmen, Azam and Mercier, to the lure of the euro, they would have had another strong shout this time. He will make a difference, as will the likes of David Flatman and Martyn Wood. Watch out for Matt Stevens - some prospect in the front row - and Olly Barkley, a slow burner of an outside-half but growing in maturity and influence.Warm welcomes: Duncan Bell (Pontypridd), David Flatman (Saracens), Robbie Fleck (Western Province).Fond farewells: Gareth Cooper (Celtic Warriors), Dan Lyle (Leicester), Tom Voyce (Wasps).Prospects: Better than last year, which is not saying much Seventh.GloucesterDirector of rugby: Nigel Melville. John Connolly, drafted in from a defunct Swansea to coach a club who seemed hell-bent on going the same way, is as shrewd as they come and, like virtually everyone else at the Recreation Ground, an Australian. Tickle converted and added a penalty when Chris Chester was sent to the sinbin for obstruction. Hull got a meaningless consolation when Kirk Yeaman squeezed in at the corner.Wigan: Radlinski; Dallas, Aspinwall, Hodgson, Carney; O'Loughlin, Robinson; C Smith, Newton, Pongia, Cassidy, Tickle, Farrell. Substitutes used: Johnson, O'Connor, M Smith, Hock.Hull: Horne; Best, Barnett, Yeaman, Wilkinson; Cooke, J Smith; Greenhill, Treister, King, McMenemy, Ryan, Chester. Substitutes used: Dowes, Jowitt, Logan, Lupton.Referee: S Ganson.. BathHead coach: John Connolly. Captain: Danny Grewcock A whole new team, as near as dammit, which is probably as well after last season's mix of misery and trauma. They soon got over it, scoring the first of their three first-half tries - all beautifully constructed and all involving Kris Radlinski - while Barnett was still off the field.Mick Cassidy, standing in at dummy-half made the initial inroads, Luke Robinson carried it on and Radlinski was there to send David Hodgson over.
Just as Wigan seemed to have timed their run with a precision worthy of potential champions, events elsewhere robbed them of the second place in the Super League they thought they had earned. Wigan did all that could have been asked of them against a lacklustre Hull side, only for Leeds to launch an astonishing fightback at Headingley to keep their noses in front with one round of games to go before the play-offs. Leeds were 20-0 down after 58 minutes against St Helens but ran out 30-20 winners.That might be frustrating for Wigan, but they would not swap their situation with Hull, who are now in danger of missing out on the top six altogether.Wigan made what could have been a disconcerting start, with Terry Newton sent to the sinbin after only two minutes for holding down Richie Barnett. Both have withdrawn from the England A squad to have minor operations at the end of the domestic season. The St Helens full-back, Paul Wellens, has been added to the Great Britain squad for the Test series against Australia in November. Wellens, who missed last year's Tests against New Zealand with a fractured cheekbone, was a controversial omission from David Waite's initial 28-man squad, but has responded with a string of good performances.He makes the competition for the No 1 shirt fierce, with Wigan's Kris Radlinski and Gary Connnolly of Leeds already in the squad, but Wellens has also played for his country at wing and centre.Two players recently involved with Great Britain, Karl Pratt of Bradford and Hull's Paul King, will not be involved in this autumn's international programme. No time: R Schumacher (Ger) Williams-BMW, J Verstappen (Neth) Minardi-Ford.. It's very difficult to measure, but most definitely it was a negative influence and that was part of the strategy. |
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