Gloucester Rugby have had a remarkable start to the 2026/27 season with just three losses in all competitions and currently sit second in the Gallagher Prem table, but Charlie Atkinson revealed that his side should have deserved much more from the game.
“It felt like we were playing the game that we played against Leicester a few weeks ago all over again, and we used that as motivation in the week to write the wrongs and the lessons we learned in that game.
“We came out the blocks well ,we were physical, and we put them under pressure and found space when we needed to, and then it did feel after 35 minutes that we shot ourselves in the foot a bit and we ended up losing a few collisions in the middle of the park that put ourselves under pressure.
“We started getting sloppy around discipline, around the breakdown and around offside lines and the way the game is going at the moment particularly against a team as good as Northampton when you are fighting on your try line, the dam will break at some point and that is what was frustrating.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe English International admitted that there is a lot of room to improve ahead of their Prem Rugby Cup clash against Bath at the Rec on Saturday.
“Second half today we fought and dug in but we were not accurate when we needed to be, and we also let them in through some sloppy moments, whether we were switching off or getting a bit lazy around our discipline.
“I just said to the lads in the huddle at the end of the game that it does not take away all the lessons and advancements we have made this year, but if we are going to be a team who challenges for the top four we need to be able to put in performances against the best and be consistent for the majority of the game, if not the whole 80 minutes.”
The centre also believes that playing higher up against a team like Northampton would help with slowing the fast ball down.
“We want to fight and win the ball high up, but we could slow the ball down against a team like Northampton to stop their flow.
“We did that for large parts, but once we started losing collisions here we could not compete in the breakdown because they are going to wipe you out before you get a sniff. So, it was patchy but when we did it, we did it well and it got us in the game, so there are positives and negatives to take out of today.”
Atkinson is now set to join up with his England teammates ahead of the November Nation Championship matches against Australia, Japan and New Zealand.
