Current director of rugby George Skivington looks set to return to a more coaching focussed role
George Skivington, Gloucester director of rugby (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Gloucester Rugby are looking to bring in a new director of rugby figure above George Skivington, with the club’s senior leadership feeling the former lock is in need of support to allow him to get back to coaching.
Following on from initial reporting from RugbyPass, GloucestershireLive can confirm interviews have taken place over several weeks to find a new director of rugby figure for the Gallagher PREM side, with the club keen to keep Skivington on, most likely in a head coach capacity, in the biggest shakeup at Kingsholm for five years.
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Skivington has been the rugby lead at Gloucester since joining the club in July 2020, during the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown, having stepped up from his role as forward coach at London Irish.
During his tenure, the club have had mixed fortunes in the Gallagher PREM, coming seventh as they concluded the paused 2019/20 campaign, 11th in 2020/21, fifth in 2021/22, 10th in 2022/23, 9th in 2023/24 and fifth last season, narrowly missing out on the play-offs by just two points.
There have been high points along the road, with the Cherry and Whites lifting the PREM Rugby Cup in 2023/24, reaching the EPCR Challenge Cup final the same season.
But a massive turnover of players this summer, plus a series of punishing injuries, have all contributed to the club’s worst-ever start to a league campaign and there is a feeling amongst the board that Skivington needs to step away from the bigger picture management duties and focus more on what happens on the pitch. He is also understood to be frustrated at the lack of time he is currently able to commit to coaching.
This week, Gloucester confirmed England Women’s head coach John Mitchell had been brought into the club in an unpaid, short-term capacity to share his expertise with the club’s coaching staff, following disappointment in the club’s leaky defence. Whether the 61-year-old is one of the men to have interviewed for the job is currently unclear.
RugbyPass report former Ospreys head coach Toby Booth, who is currently working as a consultant forwards coach at Harlequins, and consultant coach for Hong Kong Rugby – who have qualified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, could be on the shortlist.
Booth has an expansive CV, having previously been first team coach at Bath and director of rugby at London Irish, where he worked with Skivington.
GloucestershireLive understands several candidates have interviewed with the club over the last few weeks, with CEO Alex Brown leading the search, with an appointment likely soon. The new addition could well initially come in on a consultancy basis with a view to a longer-term commitment down the line.
