Premiership defences put on high alert after Jake Polledri made his return
Regardless of whether you are a Gloucester fan, Italy fan, or neither, most people would have been pleased to see flanker Jake Polledri make his comeback this week in the Premiership Rugby Cup against Worcester Warriors.
After almost two years out of action with a knee injury, the Italy international started at blindside flanker midweek at Kingsholm in the 49-21 victory over the Warriors.
This will put all defences in England on high alert, as he was one of the most brutal ball carriers in the Premiership before sustaining his injury against Scotland in November 2020.
RugbyCoach8 recently shared a video of his performance against the Warriors, and there were glimpses of the player he was pre injury. Of course after so long out it will take a player a while to acclimatise again, but this was still promising. Take a look at his game:
Also, after so long out it was unlikely that Polledri was going to feature in two games in a matter of days, so it is understandable that he has not made the Gloucester squad ahead of their trip to the StoneX Stadium on Saturday to face Saracens. Both sides are unbeaten so far this season, although they have both had bye weeks, meaning they have only played one game each.
Saracens XV
1 Mako Vunipola
2 Jamie George
3 Christian Judge
4 Theo McFarland
5 Hugh Tizard
6 Andy Christie
7 Ben Earl
8 Billy Vunipola
9 Ivan van Zyl
10 Owen Farrell (c)
11 Alex Lewington
12 Duncan Taylor
13 Alex Lozowski
14 Max Malins
15 Elliot Daly
Replacements
16 Tom Woolstencroft
17 Eroni Mawi
18 Alec Clarey
19 Callum Hunter-Hill
20 Jackson Wray
21 Ruben de Haas
22 Manu Vunipola
23 Josh Hallett
Gloucester XV
15. Lloyd Evans*
14. Louis Rees-Zammit*
13. Chris Harris
12. Mark Atkinson
11. Ollie Thorley*
10. Adam Hastings
9. Ben Meehan
1. Harry Elrington
2. Jack Singleton
3. Fraser Balmain
4. Freddie Clarke*
5. Alex Craig*
6. Ruan Ackermann (c)
7. Harry Taylor*
8. Albert Tuisue
Replacements
16. Santiago Socino
17. Val Rapava-Ruskin
18. Jamal Ford-Roboinson
19. Cameron Jordan*
20. Jordy Reid
21. Charlie Chapman*
22. Billy Twelvetrees
23. Kyle Moyle
