Promising start as Glaws win first friendly

They say pre-season games mean nothing - they are played purely to help players reach match fitness and to work out tactics for the coming season. But it's usually the losers who say that - the winners have every right to say that they can be useful pointers to the season and can certainly help build up team spirit and the support of the fans.

So don't be surprised to hear Gloucester fans crowing after their team's four-try win over Scarlets at Kingsholm.
There were changes galore - Glaws reached double figures - and some might claim few were playing at 100 per cent, but it was as good as pre-season friendly games get for Glaws and there are many reasons for coach Bryan Redpath to feel at least partly satisfied.
Glaws were under orders to run everything and tries came from Akapusi Qera, Jonny May, Darren Dawidiuk and Charlie Sharples, three of them converted by Tim Taylor.
A score of 26-6 looks comprehensive enough, and in some respects it was. But the opposition weren't at full strength either and Redpath will find many bits and pieces he feels need some work in training.
"On the whole I'm happy with that," he said. "It was a good work-out and it was good to see some of the younger players out there as well as some players coming back from injury.
"There were tired legs and there was some rust there, but we scored four and didn't concede. But I'm not going to get too excited."
Redpath says up to a dozen players will be available again for the next pre-season game at Ospreys next Saturday, having been away on international training camps, and he will be looking for his squad to step up another gear in Wales.
For now, though, it's a case of so far so good, with the added bonus that the first-half shoulder injury that saw Lesley Vainikolo go off is not serious.