Gloucester Rugby’s fizzing backline has been recognised for exploding into life this month with Santi Carreras and Max Llewellyn both shortlisted for the January Premiership Player of the Month award.

The Cherry and Whites saw off two top four rivals in the month of January, beating Sale Sharks 36-20 before winning the Slater Cup with a 38-31 home win over Leicester Tigers on Saturday. The pair of bonus point victories has seen George Skivington’s side climb into third place in the standings and into the promised land of the playoffs with Carreras and Llewellyn both prominent.

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Argentina star Santiago Carreras scored a round-high 18 points at the weekend, going 100 percent off the kicking tee and he scored a try. Llewellyn’s inclusion on the shortlist comes after a surprise snub by Wales head coach Warren Gatland ahead of the upcoming Six Nations. Llewellyn, who has been playing both in the centre and on the wing this season, is currently second in the try-scoring charts in the Premiership with seven so far, one behind Bristol Bears’ Kalaveti Ravouvou.

Gloucester forwards coach Trevor Woodman said: “They both performed really well for us at the weekend and did well against the Scarlets as well. It is a nice accolade to have and those individual awards come off the back of decent team performances. I thought there was a period in that Leicester game when we were unstoppable and their skills came to the fore.

“Max has been outstanding, he has been leading the try scoring in the Premiership this season and has made a real impact in our backline. Whether he has been playing 13 or 14 he has delivered pretty much every time for us. Not only is he a big physical centre, he has got some silky skills as well and you can really see that coming through.”

The Gloucester duo have been nominated alongside Harlequins forward pair James Chisholm and Jack Kenningham. Previous monthly winners this season have been Max Malins and Gabriel Ibitoye of Bristol and Sale Sharks captain Ben Curry.