This is Gloucestershire -- BILLY Twelvetrees admits the visit of Mike Teague inspired Gloucester ahead of their ultimately unsuccessful Heineken Cup clash with Munster. The Cherry and White legend was called upon to deliver a speech and present the jerseys ahead of the European day of destiny. 'Iron Mike' kept tight-lipped about what he said to Nigel Davies' men, who were at rock bottom and plagued by a chronic lack of confidence following a humiliating loss to Saracens last week – the latest disaster in a disappointing season. But while the Cherry and Whites were unable to prevent Munster reaching the knockout stages for the third straight season, they restored the pride in the badge with a fiercely committed display. Twelvetrees said: "He's such a Gloucester legend and influential guy that he didn't have to say much. "Just him being in the room everyone knew how important it was to both him and the people who have played alongside and before him. "It puts into perspective how many people love this city and club. "We love representing it and while we didn't do it justice last week we upped it a massive percentage and just want to keep playing at that intensity now "It was amazing to have him in and he only had to say a few words and the boys were ready to play. "Last week was dismal and we were embarrassed at the way we played the game. "There were a lot of boys who just didn't sleep very well after the Saracens performance, I was one of them and as captain you can't afford to do that. "We came together in the week and needed to switch on and come out all guns blazing against Munster. "The boys had a different look in their eye this week, they came out with a huge amount of passion, were a lot more physical and wanted to play the game the way it should. "We've put ourselves in the right position to move forward and there's a lot more pride to put back in the shirt." The defeat dumped Gloucester out of Europe as their six-year wait for a place in the knockout stages of Europe's premier club competition goes on. But Twelvetrees insists there is plenty to play for in Sunday's final pool stage match at Perpignan despite a qualifying place for the Amlin Challenge Cup also appearing out of reach. And he reckons Gloucester can climb the Aviva Premiership table if they continue to play with the same passion. He said: "We can be proud of that and really take some confidence down to Perpignan. "We showed a lot of character and heart and on another day we could have got another result. "We have all to play for this season. We have to get on with it and use this as a starting point to push on. "Domestically it's such a long year, it's such a tight league and we'll give it our all." But the England centre is well aware the star-studded back line must brush up on their accuracy after a number of scoring opportunities went begging against Munster. He added: "Munster are a very resilient team which is why they are top of their league and up there in Europe. Their defence is very physical and they hung on. "We coped with the physicality and intensity well but we just weren't clinical enough in those wider spaces. "We created a lot of opportunities and could have scored a few more points if it wasn't for a bit of accuracy, but we're moving in the right direction."
Reported by This is 5 hours ago.
This is Gloucestershire -- BILLY Twelvetrees admits the visit of Mike Teague inspired Gloucester ahead of their ultimately unsuccessful Heineken Cup clash with Munster. The Cherry and White legend was called upon to deliver a speech and present the jerseys ahead of the European day of destiny. 'Iron Mike' kept tight-lipped about what he said to Nigel Davies' men, who were at rock bottom and plagued by a chronic lack of confidence following a humiliating loss to Saracens last week – the latest disaster in a disappointing season. But while the Cherry and Whites were unable to prevent Munster reaching the knockout stages for the third straight season, they restored the pride in the badge with a fiercely committed display. Twelvetrees said: "He's such a Gloucester legend and influential guy that he didn't have to say much. "Just him being in the room everyone knew how important it was to both him and the people who have played alongside and before him. "It puts into perspective how many people love this city and club. "We love representing it and while we didn't do it justice last week we upped it a massive percentage and just want to keep playing at that intensity now "It was amazing to have him in and he only had to say a few words and the boys were ready to play. "Last week was dismal and we were embarrassed at the way we played the game. "There were a lot of boys who just didn't sleep very well after the Saracens performance, I was one of them and as captain you can't afford to do that. "We came together in the week and needed to switch on and come out all guns blazing against Munster. "The boys had a different look in their eye this week, they came out with a huge amount of passion, were a lot more physical and wanted to play the game the way it should. "We've put ourselves in the right position to move forward and there's a lot more pride to put back in the shirt." The defeat dumped Gloucester out of Europe as their six-year wait for a place in the knockout stages of Europe's premier club competition goes on. But Twelvetrees insists there is plenty to play for in Sunday's final pool stage match at Perpignan despite a qualifying place for the Amlin Challenge Cup also appearing out of reach. And he reckons Gloucester can climb the Aviva Premiership table if they continue to play with the same passion. He said: "We can be proud of that and really take some confidence down to Perpignan. "We showed a lot of character and heart and on another day we could have got another result. "We have all to play for this season. We have to get on with it and use this as a starting point to push on. "Domestically it's such a long year, it's such a tight league and we'll give it our all." But the England centre is well aware the star-studded back line must brush up on their accuracy after a number of scoring opportunities went begging against Munster. He added: "Munster are a very resilient team which is why they are top of their league and up there in Europe. Their defence is very physical and they hung on. "We coped with the physicality and intensity well but we just weren't clinical enough in those wider spaces. "We created a lot of opportunities and could have scored a few more points if it wasn't for a bit of accuracy, but we're moving in the right direction."
Reported by This is 5 hours ago.