The two positions where Gloucester Rugby could still strengthen ahead of new season

Gloucester could still strengthen their squad ahead of the new season.

There is enough room in the salary cap to bring players in under the injury dispensation rule with Henry Trinder, Owen Williams and James Hanson still out with long-term injuries, and head coach Johan Ackermann admitted the club remain on the lookout.

Franco Marais and academy graduate Henry Walker are currently the only fit hookers and their midfield options could be limited further if summer signing Chris Harris is named in Scotland’s Rugby World Cup squad.

 “We’ve got the opportunity with the medical side of things with Henry and Chibba (Hanson) to see if we can strengthen those positions,” said Ackermann.

“We’ll keep looking and see what we can afford according to the salary cap but at the moment this is the squad we’re going to work with apart from the four players at the World Cup we know about, then we’ll wait to see about Chris Harris.

“We’ll see where we can strengthen but at the moment this is the squad we’ll work with.

“I think all of us would ideally liked to have strengthened our squads with the demands ahead.

“The games are so physical and we’ve seen last season Saracens were successful because of the quality they’ve got in both competitions, they can field strong teams.

“I felt we had a bad run with injuries and we couldn’t keep up performances in the Heineken Cup competition.

“Everybody is restrained by the salary cap so some areas you’ll be very strong, some areas you won’t be as strong so you have to rely on your guys and academy guys that are there and hopefully if you do need to we can fast-track the academy boys.”

Another area where Gloucester are likely to be light in the early parts of the season is at scrum-half with Callum Braley and Willi Heinz away at the World Cup with Italy and England respectively.

That leaves new arrival Joe Simpson and youngster Charlie Chapman, while Steve Varney, an Italy Under-18 international who has stepped up from the junior to senior academy, could also get a chance particularly with the Premiership Rugby Cup taking place at the start of the season next month.

“We’ve lost two scrum-halves to the World Cup so that already means we have to use our academy nine and it’s great exposure for him,” said Ackermann.

“I see it as a positive. We’ve pulled in one or two other guys who had good seasons for the Under-18s last year and I think that’s when they learn, to play with the senior boys and challenge themselves.

“When you play against the likes of Montpellier and Toulouse and the weeks in between you play against Saracens, Exeter, Wasps and Bath you sometimes need that experience and that’s why it would be nice if we can keep the senior guys healthy as well.”

As well as Harris and Simpson, prop Jamal Ford-Robinson and former Hartpury academy Simon Linsell have joined Gloucester in the summer, the latter starting out on an academy contract.

Ackermann said: “The three that are here – Joe, Jamal and Simon - have fitted in greatly, they’re great guys on and off the field, they’re willing to work hard, they’ve fitted straight into the culture in how we want to be as players and as a team.

“Obviously Chris Harris has come to us to introduce himself. We appreciate that so much, he didn’t have to do it in his week off when Scotland didn’t train so that’s already a great sign.

“I trust he will fit in well whenever he joins us.”