Johan Ackermann has been short-listed for a top end-of-season award.

The Gloucester head coach, who has steered the club into the Premiership play-offs for the first time since 2011, is one of five names in the running for the coveted Ricoh Director of Rugby of the Season award.

The others on the list Rob Baxter (Exeter Chiefs), Chris Boyd (Northampton Saints), Pat Lam (Bristol Bears) and Mark McCall (Saracens).

The winner will be announced on Wednesday 22nd May.

Meanwhile Gloucester have confirmed their Senior Academy squad for next season, which includes the signing of Simon Linsell, Hartpury’s captain and player of the season.

It’s something of a return for second row Linsell who played a big part in Hartpury maintaining their Greene King IPA Championship status in the season that has just come to a conclusion.

Earlier in his career, he was part of a Gloucester under-18s set-up that also included the likes of Lewis Ludlow and Ollie Thorley and also featured in Premiership Rugby A League action several times.

He moved away from the area to study Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at Exeter University, and captained the university side before returning last season to join Hartpury where he made a real impact.

He will be part of a Senior Academy squad that, in recent seasons, has seen a number of players feature at first team level, both domestically and in Europe, and move up to the first team squad.

Moving up from the successful under-18s set-up are Harry Fry, Ethan Hunt, Jenson Boughton, Joe Howard, Jack Clement, Josh Gray, Stephen Varney, George Barton, Isaac Marsh and Louis Rees-Zammit showing that the pipeline is in good health.

Linsell admitted that he’s delighted to return to familiar territory.

“It’s fantastic to be returning to where it all first started for me,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed my rugby at Exeter University and with Hartpury but I’m massively looking forward to moving into a fully professional environment and seeing what I can achieve.

“I’d like to thank Hartpury RFC in particular. Last season was incredibly challenging, but I learned a lot as a player and am obviously delighted that we managed to stay up.

“But now, I can’t wait for pre-season, to link up with my team-mates and to see what contribution I can make.”

Gloucester Rugby Senior Academy 2019-20: Ollie Adkins, Harry Fry, Ethan Hunt, Jack Bartlett, Jenon Boughton, Simon Linsell, Archie Benson, Harry Butler, Aaron Hinkley, Joe Howard, Jack Clement, Josh Gray, Stephen Varney, George Barton, Isaac Marsh, Jack Reeves, Jake Morris, Alex Morgan, Reece Dunn, Louis Rees-Zammit, Tom Stanton