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The morning after their team had just been embarrassed by Leinster last month, we bumped into several forlorn Gloucester fans on the flight home.
s we made our way to Northampton for Munster’s clash the following day, the Gloucester supporters bore the look of having been seriously short-changed on what was an expensive away trip in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Many of those decked out in red and white would have had the trip to Dublin booked and paid for long before Gloucester head coach George Skivington decided to send a much weakened side, who were duly hammered 57-0.
The rationale behind the thinking was that, with one Champions Cup win already to their name, Gloucester could target the return game at Kingsholm as a much better chance of troubling Leinster.
Also, with an important Premiership clash against champions Leicester to come the following week, Skivington felt it was best to juggle his resources. However, that didn’t really work out either, as his side lost 28-13 at Welford Road.
Gloucester’s patchy form, coupled with that heavy defeat at the RDS, means there is now huge pressure on Skivington’s men to deliver in front of their home crowd when Leinster come to town on Saturday afternoon.
Leinster are braced for a backlash against what they are fully expecting to be Gloucester’s strongest possible team, and, as such, the previous meeting has barely featured in their preparations.
Instead, Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster took in last week’s last-gasp defeat to Saracens, which they believe provided a far more accurate barometer of what awaits this weekend.
Although Wales international Louis Rees-Zammit is missing through injury and influential back-row Albert Tuisue is suspended, Gloucester are set to recall plenty of firepower left at home for the RDS loss.
The likes of Jonny May, Chris Harris, Ollie Thorley, Ruan Ackermann, Lewis Ludlow and Ben Morgan didn’t feature that night, so Leinster know they are in for a much tougher test.
For all of their inconsistent results lately, Gloucester are fourth in the Premiership table, and while they will have one eye on consolidating their play-off spot, they owe their loyal supporters who made the trip to Dublin a big performance.
The frustrating format of the Champions Cup means that despite having already been destroyed 57-0, Gloucester’s current eighth-place position would see them sneak through to the knockout stages.
With five points, thanks to their bonus-point win over Bordeaux on the opening weekend, Gloucester could conceivably get a losing bonus point this weekend and then target another victory in France next week to qualify for the last 16.
Alternatively, handing Leinster a first defeat of the season would put them in a much more favourable position heading into the final round of the pool stages.
And that’s why Leinster are on red alert. Safe in the knowledge the Gloucester side they beat in December will be nothing like the one they will face in Kingsholm, they will not underestimate the challenge ahead.
For their part, Gloucester know they haven’t yet fired a shot against Leinster, and Skivington will have identified a couple of chinks in the armour since the two sides last met.
Munster frustrated Leinster at the breakdown on St Stephen’s Day by slowing down their ball.
Last Saturday, the Ospreys adopted a similar tactic, and having also had the edge at scrum time, Gloucester will have been watching closely.
Complacency has rarely been an issue for this Leinster squad, especially not with the added incentive in this season’s Champions Cup campaign.
If things go according to plan, this weekend could be the last time Leinster are on the road until the final at the Aviva Stadium in May.
Routes to that much-coveted fifth star don’t come much better, yet Kingsholm is a tricky away venue.
With the crowd close to the pitch and when The Shed is in full voice, many teams have struggled under the pressure.
As Lancaster touched on earlier this week, this will be a new experience for most Leinster players, who may be reminded of what happened in 2013, when the province was beaten at home by Northampton, having already comfortably defeating the Saints at Franklin’s Gardens.
Leinster’s task is to avoid falling into such a trap, whereas Gloucester are feeling the heat to back up their decision to send a second-string team to Dublin by causing what would be a major upset at Kingsholm.
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