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MOSELEY'S Ian Smith insists his club's partnership with Premiership
Gloucester will become bigger and better this season.
The Birmingham side get their campaign under way on Saturday when they host
London Welsh, a side who have made no secret of the fact that they have
joined National One's ever-growing band of full-time clubs.
The red and black stripes agreed a ground-breaking linkup with top-flight
Gloucester last season but, naturally, the deal had its teething problems,
including the unexpected arrival of a bemused and unwanted Ludovic Mercier
at Billesley Common.
However, the agreement turned out to be a success as Moseley finished in a
secure tenth position thanks to the efforts of dual-registered players such
as Dan Norton, Charlie Sharples and Jack Adams.
Now, having ironed out certain issues with the Kingsholm outfit, head coach
Smith has an even more impressive pool of Gloucester hopefuls to choose
from.
Firepower Norton, Sharples and Adams return to bolster the backs along with
Henry Trinder, Tristan Roberts and England Under-18 scrum-half Jordi
Pasqualin. While in the forwards, Dan Williams, Guy Thompson and Ross
MacMillan are among those young guns who will add extra firepower.
And after hailing the impact of the Gloucester deal last season, ex-Scotland
international Smith insists it will be even better this time round.
"We've continued the deal with Gloucester and we've made it that bit better
for both parties so we're more solid with which players we will be helping
to develop," said Smith. "It was a success for both parties.
"We learned that we've got to be in charge of our own destiny and that
allowed us to strengthen the quality of our squad with some of the fantastic
talent that Gloucester have got.
"We are going to enjoy getting to grips with the boys again because they
were outstanding last season and the system is working.
"We never originally knew what we were going to get out of it and weren't
allocated some of the players that we had discussed. But now we've redressed
that.
"It's much more structured and there won't be as many maybes this time, we
know which players we will definitely have."
As well as the young Cherry and Whites, Smith has bolstered his squad with
further permanent acquisitions as well as receiving a boost from the news
that ex-captain Andy Binns has decided against retirement to continue for
another season.
Ally Muldowney and Dan Lavery have arrived from Stourbridge as have fly-half
Richard Vasey from Leeds, flanker Adam Whitney from Cardiff and prop George
Davis from Plymouth, while centre Andy Reay has returned after a season with
Newbury.
Smith is now hopeful that his new recruits can help transform Billesley
Common into a fortress after his side's failings on home soil last season.
"We're aiming to get into that top ten again and it's going to be tough," he
said. "We were fortunate that we enjoyed a few away wins last season because
we didn't play well at home.
"We're looking to address that this season and find some consistency at
home."
Sunday Mercury |
