Gloucester .v. Newcastle Preview

Face the 'holm
By Cherrybomb
May 16 2002

On Saturday Gloucester take on Newcastle in the Zurich Playoffs. Whether there is any need for the playoffs if questionable, but the focus for this game will be the return of Rob Andrew to Kingsholm after he made allegations of racism against Olivier Azam, but Azam was later cleared.

Without a doubt the Shed will be the loudest it has been all season, probably even beating the respectable noise made for the game against Bath. The exact reaction of the crowd will be hard to predict, but there is certain to be a lot of noise made. I heard today that someone will be bringing in eggs to throw at Rob Andrew's car. So far scenes like this are only found in football, so let's keep it that way. The match must be enjoyed, so let's turn our anger into noise to spur the team on. The team can use the whole Andrew thing to their advantage as well, and let's hope we see a passionate display to see off the men who finished the season sixth.

Gloucester are riding high after massive wins against Bath at home and Leeds away. The only likely change for the Cherry-And-Whites is the return of Daren O'Leary in place of Diego Albanese. I don't agree with this decision, as Diego is a clever runner of the ball who can break through the tiniest of gaps, weaving his way through players. O'Leary however, is an excellent clever player, who tends to run in straight lines. With Sinbad on the other wing, I think the Daren and Sinbad are too similar. However, I don't think that this will alter our chances.

Newcastle have a lot of injury worries, with around half of their 30 man squad either injured or unavailable. Once again Rob Andrew feels that the rules don't apply to him, and will play Jonny Wilkinson even though he is dangerously close to his 32 game limit.

Everyone knows how dangerous Wilkinson can be, but without a doubt Gloucester are favourites and with the crowd behind them like never before, you can only imagine a victory.

Predicted Score: Gloucester 47-12 Newcastle

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