Heineken Cup make or break time for Glaws

Gloucester face a Euro make-or-break game at Kingsholm on Sunday, when they MUST gain full revenge for their 37-24 defeat at the hands of Cardiff Blues in their first Heineken Cup meeting. This is the big one which will decide whether Glaws make progress in the competition, and on current form the Blues are the favourites.

If Glaws play like they did at Newcastle last weekend, they’ll be blown away by a Welsh side that showed it’s more than capable of winning again in the initial game at the Millennium Stadium.
The team’s form this season has been far from consistent and the Falcons result after a good win over Saracens was a shocker.
There is some good news on the injury front, with James Simpson-Daniel expected to return to the squad for the first time since that Cardiff game.
In a major boost for the back line, Iain Balshaw (right) is also expected to return to action, while Mike Tindall and Olly Morgan are expected to be fit after being injured at Kingston Park. Gareth Cooper is due back at scrum-half after injury.
Coach Dean Ryan told the Citizen: “We understand that if we want to continue in Europe then this weekend is absolutely vital.
“I think we are a pretty robust outfit and we need to take that into this weekend. We did some pretty smart things in attack against them earlier in the season but they scored twice far too easily just before half-time – that is something you cannot afford at this level because it is so hard to go back and repair any damage.
“I am confident that if we are slightly more solid our attacking game will offer us opportunities we must try and exploit.
“Heineken Cup weeks are quite easy – there is no motivation required, there will be a lot of emotion and players respond to that. We are at home and we will be fighting for a result.”
Let’s hope he’s right, because if Glaws don’t recover from the Newcastle upset, the second half of the season could turn into a right old flop.