Glaws drama is turning into a crisis after latest defeat

Q – how do you manage to score three tries to one away from home, and still manage to lose? A – when you’re Gloucester, it almost comes naturally. And to make matters worse in losing 28-23 at Sale, Mike Tindall did his hamstring again, while his replacement Charlie Sharples was red-carded as Glaws managed to turn a drama into a crisis down near the foot of the Guinness Premiership table.

Glaws can’t say they hadn’t been warned about the threat of Charlie Hodgson, who has punished them so often in the past, and the Sharks fly-half did it again with seven penalties and a conversion of the home team’s only – controversial – try.
Coach Bryan Redpath made it clear before the game that Hodgson can win a game if he’s given a chance to get his trusty kicking boot on target.
Glaws needed a result at Edgeley Park, and if they hadn’t been so careless in areas within Hodgson’s range they might have got one.
But it was another undisciplined and scruffy performance that makes you wonder what on earth they do on the training pitch during the week.
Do the coaches not tell them how to play modern rugby, or do the players not listen?

If you're playing a team with a red-hot kicker who has shown you he is on form, is it not a good idea to avoid giving away daft penalties? Losing is one things, throwing games away is another.
Tom Voyce scored a first-half try for Glaws, while Will James and Greg Somerville touched down late on as Glaws threatened to turn the game over.
But they didn’t quite have enough and the defeat means we are now almost certain to be in for a nervous six months fearing that bottom club Leeds just might hit form.
If they do, and Glaws get no better than they are playing at the moment, we could be in deep trouble and the vote of confidence owner Tom Walkinshaw has given Redpath could look badly misplaced.
As we've said, we now have a crisis on our hands, and with the coach's job apparently safe and no new players likely, it's getting more and more difficult to see where the solution is.