By Sportin Wales Co-Founder Gareth Anscombe

Clearly the season didn’t go the way Gloucester would have liked last season and I think everyone at the club was disappointed with how their league form eventuated.

They still won the Premiership Cup and made the final of the Challenge Cup, but you want to be judged on your performances in the league.

This year we’re certainly backing ourselves to play. We’ve only been together for a few weeks, but we’re keen to use the talent in the room and move the ball a bit, particularly at home with the 4G and a fast track.

That doesn’t mean throwing the ball around. It’s still important that we’re direct but we’re happy to back our skillsets and get a few passes in to stretch defences. If we can do that, then we can be really competitive and turn some of that cup form into league form.

We’ve probably got a smaller budget than some other teams but if we can keep everyone healthy and on their feet, then we’ve got some good talent to utilise and cause teams some trouble. There’s a lot of good youngsters coming through and I’m looking forward to playing with them and growing that relationship.

New Experienced Faces

On top of that are the new signings, the likes of myself, Tomos Williams and Christian Wade can bring some valuable experience to the table, having played in some big games at the elite level.

We know Tomos has real X-Factor, if I can give the team some direction, it will allow him to play freely and fast and we both play at our best when we do that and back our instincts.

My role as a 10 is to facilitate where the team plays on the pitch and ultimately making the right decisions, not putting the team under pressure and knowing when to pull the trigger to have a go.

If I can help guide the team around, making sure I get the ball to the weapons we have out wide, then we can cause trouble for teams.

As I’ve got older, I’ve learnt to speak a little bit less, pick my moments to get real buy-in. We’ve got to talk so much, lead and demand from others, so much so, that your voice as a 10 does get a bit whiny and boys can switch off.

Consistency is Key

You need to build relationships, so that boys understand and react to what you say and know that when you’re talking to them, you’re doing it for the betterment of the team rather than a ‘my way or the highway’ attitude.

What helps with that is to build consistency in game time. It’s a position where if you’re in and out then it’s difficult to find your flow.

Ultimately, fly-halves are judged on decisions more so than effort. A lot of those decisions are under pressure, and you need a good skillset to pull it off, I’ve always played my best when I’ve played a lot of games in a row and started to get a real feel for the team and how we play.

One of my biggest frustrations being injured has been being in and out, trying to find form quickly, that’s always a challenge. Maybe there are other positions on the field where if you play with a bit of effort and intensity you can be a nine out of 10, whereas with a fly-half we’ve got to make so many decisions and execute them under pressure.

The best thing more me is spending time with the team, growing our game, understanding how we want to play and trying to help facilitate what the coaches want. Driving that game plan and then executing it.

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