George Skivington: It is more exciting for Gloucester to reach two finals than come seventh

The day after Gloucester suffered their record-setting 90-0 defeat by Northampton Saints, George Skivington decided to mow his lawn.

Only when it started raining three hours later did he stop as the Gloucester head coach replayed not just the game itself but also his entire decision-making framework that led to him sending a second-string team to be annihilated at Franklin’s Gardens. His deep train of thought went beyond the logic of that particular team selection for a single match but his rationale for pivoting to prioritising cup competitions and the collective and personal repercussions that flowed from that decision.

As a former second row for Wasps, Leicester and London Irish, Skivington is a ‘sticks and stones’ man to his core. He is not on social media, but was kept appraised of demands for his public flogging outside Teague’s Bar. Yet as much as he can wear the bullets that come his way, the fallout of such a devastating defeat permeates everywhere. As he tells Telegraph Sport, it also reaches his young children who go to school in the most rugby mad of English cities.

“That is something you have to consider, how it is going to affect them,” Skivington said. “You weigh it all up because it is never just about you, it is about your family, the team, the club, everyone. You have to be able to look yourself in the mirror and wear it.”

Following a 5am gym session the following morning, Skivington had flushed any lingering regret out of his system. There is no sugarcoating the result or the performance, but Skivington is adamant the approach remains correct.

‘It is a big club but it has been barren for silverware’

The decision to focus on chasing silverware in the Premiership Cup, which they won after beating Leicester in March, and the Challenge Cup, where they face Sharks on Friday night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was made in conjunction with the coaches, senior player group and chief executive Alex Brown. Following a run of nine consecutive defeats, Gloucester only had the squad strength to focus on the league or the cups. The consensus landed on the latter option.

“We have never thrown the towel in with the Premiership but it got away from us at the start of the year,” Skivington said. “When we sat down as the key stakeholders who make decisions we said we can keep going in the Prem and maybe creep up a couple of places but we won’t be able to compete in the cups because the squad is not big enough. Or we try to get to a couple of finals, have some big days out and win some trophies, which has not happened a lot at this club.

“It is a big club but it has been barren for silverware. We knew some people who would agree with it and some people who wouldn’t. I knew there were some Prem games where we would really have to rotate heavily and everyone was on board. I think for me, it is more exciting to get to two finals, than to finish seventh.”

It is quickly forgotten how many other setbacks Gloucester have faced this year, from Louis Rees-Zammit’s defection to the NFL to an injury list that only ever seems to grow. There have been shards of light along the way. Rees-Zammit’s departure directly led to the rise of Josh Hathaway, who might yet replace the new Kansas City Chief in the Wales set-up.

‘My objective is to get Gloucester to win the Prem’

Skivington, who was seconded to coach England A against Portugal earlier this season, denies his strategy increases the pressure on beating a Sharks team laden with Springboks. Instead, he believes the short-term prioritisation of the cup competitions can yield long-term benefits in the Premiership.

“My objective is to get Gloucester to win the Prem,” Skivington said. “Gloucester have never done that. Getting to some finals this year will hopefully put us in a better position to do that. Even tasting finals, people underestimate how much it matters to be a part of a big day and going to a big stadium like Tottenham. That’s my opinion. Next year the Prem resets and we go hard again.”

No matter the result on Friday, Skivington says that he will always bear the scars of Northampton. So too his lawn. “It got massacred actually,” Skivington said. “I was glad when it started raining because when I came back the next night I thought ‘that looks terrible’. I must have been really digging in.”