Hartpury RFC will pose Gloucester Rugby a unique challenge when they come to Kingsholm on Friday night in Round Five of the Premiership Rugby, believes defence coach Dom Waldouck, with the two sides being so closely intertwined.

Until very recently, the two squads trained side by side at Hartpury College, but even since the Premiership side relocated their training base to Kingsholm, the links between Gloucester and Hartpury are irrefutable, with multiple players dual-registered across the two clubs and having spent time on loan at the Championship side.

Waldouck confirmed that Gloucester will once again utilise their ‘second team’ squad for Friday night's fixture in a bid to give everyone in the squad playing time and rest the ‘first team’ for the Premiership and European battles to come down the line. One boost for the hosts is the return of hooker George McGuigan from a long-term injury to replace Seb Blake.

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A very similar squad to the one expected to be named for Friday’s game won 26-19 away at Cornish Pirates last weekend and Waldouck believes they are getting better with every game. He said: “Cohesion within a rugby team is always really important and for combinations to get time together, so for that group to get time playing together is really important and I think we have seen performances improve. Friday night represents another opportunity for them to show the best of themselves as individuals and as individuals.

He continued: “Facing Hartpury is challenging on a number of levels. They are highly motivated. There is a strong connection between the two playing groups. Some of the players are on the books for both clubs and there is a clear pathway between the two clubs so I think there will be a lot of highly motivated players.

“There is also a lot of familiarity between the individuals in the two teams, they are all mates, so that can be challenging because you have to get into a certain mental mindset to play a rugby game which can be challenging when it is your mates on the other side.

“The other thing is they are a quality team. Their performances in the Championship this season have been excellent; they move the ball brilliantly and will have some creativity around their lineout alongside a good set piece, so that represents plenty of challenges for us on Friday night.”

Hartpury sit sixth in the Championship table with six wins from 12 games, and last weekend they gave a strong Exeter Chiefs side a tough ride at the 4ED Hartpury Stadium in a 14-36 defeat.

Hartpury’s tries came from Mike Austin and Harry Short with Nathan Chamberlain adding both conversions.
Winger Paul Brown-Bampoe scored a brace of tries for Chiefs to continue his impressive record in the tournament with Tom Cairns, Dan Frost, Ethan Roots and Tamati Tua also crossing the whitewash, with Harvey Skinner knocking over three conversions.

Gloucester Rugby: 15 George Barton, 14 Louis Hillman-Cooper, 13 Will Butler (C), 12 Max Knight, 11 Jake Morris, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Charlie Chapman, 1 Harrison Bellamy, 2 George McGuigan, 3 Alfie Petch, 4 Danny Eite, 5 Cam Jordan, 6 Caio James, 7 Archie McArthur, 8 Albert Tuisue.

Replacements: 16 Morgan Nelson, 17 Aristot Benz-Salomon, 18 Jono Benz-Salomon, 19 Oscar Rees*, 20 Olly Allport, 21 Rio Ebanks*, 22 Morgan Adderly-Jones, 23 Jack Cotgreave.

*Called up from U18s.

Hartpury RFC: 15 Alex Morgan, 14 Brad Denty, 13 Jack Johnson, 12 Robbie Smith, 11 Matt Protheroe, 10 Nathan Chamberlain, 9 Mike Austin, 1 Harry Edwards, 2 Will Crane (2), 3 Alex Gibson, 4 Dale Lemon, 5 Jack Davies, 6 Peter Paramore, 7 Harry Short, 8 Cameron Cobbett,

Replacements: 16 E Hunt, 17 B Mellows, 18 O Minis, 19 E Erskine, 20 C Murray, 21 S Underhill, 22 J Edwards-Giraud, 23 O Holiday.