The new Premiership league season may be kicking off later than usual because of the upcoming World Cup, but the expectations of Gloucester’s rugby supporters remain unchanged.

They will be hoping for a place in the end-of-season play-offs, which in turn means a top-four finish in the 10-strong division come mid-May.

Now that may seem a tall order after Gloucester’s campaign tailed off last time out – they finished 10^th out of 11 – but centre Mark Atkinson believes there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic ahead of 2023/24.

“I think there needs to be some understanding about what happened last season,” said the 33-year-old, who has been awarded a testimonial year by the club. “We made quite a good start to the season but then we picked up injuries in key positions.

“We lost most of our first-choice front row for a period and at one time our three international hookers were all injured, that would affect any club.

“We were in a good spot early in the season but after that with all the injuries we were having to play our third and fourth choices in some games.”

Atkinson, himself, was one of the club’s long-term absentees. He sustained a serious knee injury in the win at Bath at the end of October and missed the rest of the campaign.

He is hoping to return to first-team action towards the end of September in the Rugby Premiership Cup, the competition that will take centre stage domestically while the World Cup is on, before the league campaign gets under way in mid-October.

Atkinson has been a major player for Gloucester since joining the club at the start of the 2014/15 campaign and has now made well over 150 appearances in the cherry and white.

And while the results did not always show it last season, he was encouraged by some of the performances.

“We twice went to the last kick of the game against Saracens and they are the league champions,” he said. “We were also very close against La Rochelle in the Champions Cup. Those games showed that we can do it, what we’ve got to do is produce those performances week in, week out.”

And Atkinson, who has been capped once by England, believes that they have the players who can.

“I’m not just saying it but I think we’ve got the best squad of players since I’ve been here,” he said. “Those players who were third and fourth choice last season have got much more experience and they’ve moved up the pecking order.

“We’ve got a good mix of local players, young players and a few top-drawer players. I’ve been in squads with superstar players and it doesn’t always work. In the past we’ve started to build but not kicked on.”

George Skivington’s side will be competing in the European Challenge Cup this season, a competition they have won twice before, most recently in 2014/15.

That was Atkinson’s first year with the club – he played some 25 games that season – but although he played a big part in their European success in the early games, he missed out on the semi-final and final because of concussion.

“That was very frustrating,” he admitted. “I got a medal but I don’t feel I did much to deserve it.”

Atkinson may be being a bit harsh on himself there, but he’d love to be part of a cup-winning team this time around.

That won’t be easy, of course, and he’s realistic enough to know that in the first instance he’s got to regain his place in the side.

Gloucester have signed Max Llewellyn from Cardiff, while Alex Hearle and Seb Atkinson both joined from Worcester Warriors last season, which means there will be plenty of competition for places in Gloucester’s midfield this season.

And it’s a challenge that Atkinson is relishing.

“I see it as a genuine positive,” he said. “The more competition you’ve got the more you push yourself, that’s what drives you into the first-team in the first place. The way I look at it, it was my shirt before I got injured and I want it back.”

Gloucester begin their league campaign at home to Harlequins on Saturday 14^th October. Their opening Premiership Rugby Cup game is at home to Nottingham on Saturday 9^th September.

For more information about Atkinson’s testimonial year, visit https://www.markatkinsontestimonial.co.uk/