Underdog Redpath Won't Wilt His Gloucester Side May Be Off to a Poor Start, but Underestimate the the Former Scrum-Half at Your Peril, Warns Alasdair Reid

Summary

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THE sprawling, sports-led campus of Hartpury College lies just off the A417, a few miles north of Gloucester. It is a good place to be on a bright, early autumn afternoon, a corner of merry England where shirtsleeved students stroll around the grounds, the first XV's goal-kickers go through their routines on the main pitch, and an impromptu game of rounders gets underway in the background. You could easily forget your troubles at a place like this.

Which is just what Bryan Redpath seems to have done as he saunters into view, a broad grin spreading across his face. Redpath scatters goodwill with such enthusiasm - a handshake here, a wave there, some ribald mickey-taking with the local press - that you might be forgiven for thinking his team were running away with the Guinness Premiership, not languishing near the bottom of the table. But then, this is an out-of-town college, not the in-yer-face experience that walking the streets of Gloucester can easily become.

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Extract

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Underdog Redpath Won't Wilt His Gloucester Side May Be Off to a Poor Start, but Underestimate the the Former Scrum-Half at Your Peril, Warns Alasdair Reid

Glostrophobia. The word isn't in the dictionary yet, but it gives a good sense of the kind of pressure felt by anyone associated with the famous old club when things aren't going according to plan. They take their rugby seriously here, and while the Cherry and Whites have not exactly been overburdened by success in recent years, Gloucester supporters are accustomed to seeing their club start...

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