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Spartans Rugby Club want to end league season on a high at Southmead

Gloucester > Sport > Rugby Union

Author: Roger Jackson, Posted: Friday, 28th April 2017, 15:40

Spartans celebrate after booking their place at Twickenham. Picture, Shaun Lafferty Spartans celebrate after booking their place at Twickenham. Picture, Shaun Lafferty

Spartans have rested the majority of their players for the trip to Southmead tomorrow ahead of their Twickenham showpiece against Goole the following week.

The Gloucester One champions head to the 10th-placed club in a rearranged fixture looking to make it 21 wins from 22 games in the league this season.

And they are going down to Bristol for the final game of their outstanding league season full of confidence even though they have named only five players who are expected to be involved in the Junior Vase final on Saturday 6th May.

The rest of the squad will be made up of 2nd and 3rd XV players but first-team scrum-half Shane Gardiner – one of the players being rested – insisted they still had a side good enough to win.

“It still looks pretty strong to me,” he said, “and we’re definitely going there believing we can get a result.”

The Spartans born and bred Gardiner will be cheering the club on from the sidelines – as he was when the 3rd XV booked their place in the final of the North Gloucestershire Combination’s Glanville Cup earlier this month.

“All the players who are usually playing in the first team will be watching,” he said.

They will be taking a particular interest in the five players who are playing tomorrow who will be involved at Twickenham – wings Brad Dunn and Paddy Knight, props Neil Farrell and Tez Connors, and second row Jordan Smith - and hoping that they all come through unscathed ahead of the biggest day in the club’s 90-year history.

A day after their trip to the home of English rugby, the club’s 3rds play Matson 3rds in their showpiece final at Kingsholm.

They booked their place in thrilling style, beating Gloucester Old Boys 15-10 in a grandstand finish.

“It was brilliant,” said Gardiner. “Johnny Meadows, who is one of the club’s vets, had only just come on as a replacement at full-back. He scored the winning try and it was his first touch of the ball.”

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