Gloucester boss George Skivington braced for another hectic Premiership season

George Skivington is ready for another Gallagher Premiership campaign of “twists and turns” after revitalising Gloucester as a force in the English game.

The head coach has made significant strides with his players since arriving at Kingsholm two years ago.

In the last 11 Premiership seasons, Gloucester have only secured three top-five finishes, and one of those was last term when they missed out on a play-off spot by just two points.

It is 15 years since Gloucester made the last of their two Premiership final appearances, but a Skivington-inspired revival is well and truly under way.

“I never plan too far ahead,” Skivington told the PA news agency.

“In this role, I’ve learnt the value of planning past where you can see is completely pointless. I just deal with each hurdle as it comes along.

“We will lose players next season (to international call-ups), there are Premiership Rugby Cup fixtures to deal with, there are bye weeks to deal with and there will always be challenges.

“But they are not really things to dwell on, and it is more to have a plan for what is happening.

“You know that plan is going to have to adjust very quickly a lot of the time and it will take you off one way, something will happen and you have to go the other way. It’s all twists and turns.”

Gloucester have been the least active of all 13 Premiership clubs in the transfer market, making a solitary signing in Fiji international back-row forward Albert Tuisue from London Irish.

And that underlines the measure of Skivington’s content with a squad that many feel could make a major push for domestic honours.

“I don’t feel for where we are as a club and a team that wholesale changes and trying to bring people in to spark something are what we need,” he