Three new faces with stacks of experience could have a positive impact on Gloucester’s fortunes this season.

That’s the view of Bob Rumble, long-time chairman of  the Kingsholm Supporters Mutual (KSM) and a lifelong fan of the club.

Scrum-half Tomos Williams, 29, has joined from Cardiff, 33-year-old fly-half Gareth Anscombe, a free agent, has moved to the club after starting last season in Japan, and another 33-year-old, wing Christian Wade, has made the switch from Racing 92.

Williams and Anscombe have both enjoyed stellar international careers with Wales and Rumble said of all three: “These are seriously exciting signings.

“Most clubs in the post-pandemic economy have focused a lot on ‘grow your own’. Gloucester bring through an awful lot of talented academy players and it works very well but there is a need for balance, you do need some older heads.”

All three started the two pre-season games at Edinburgh and in Munster – Gloucester won 33-19 in Cork – and Rumble said of that game: “Wow, Tomos Williams is so energetic in the right areas. He gets the ball away so fast at scrums and rucks while Anscombe is bold enough and brave enough to stand flat, so setting our midfield on fire.

“That brings Max Llewellyn into play while Wade and Ollie Thorley must be loving it. George Barton was really good too.”

The 23-year-old Barton is one of the many who have come through Gloucester’s academy in recent times and full-back is an area where they are particularly well off.

“Santiago Carreras will be back soon,” continued Rumble. “He’s been consistently man-of-the-match for Argentina this summer and was astonishing when they ripped Australia apart recently.”

And Rumble believes the 25-year-old will have plenty of ball in hand for Gloucester this season.

“Gloucester are throwing down the gauntlet,” he said. “We’re saying, ‘This is the type of rugby we’re going to play, come and get us, we’re going to run’. It’s exciting.”

And Rumble believes that Gloucester have the forwards to secure enough ball to allow the backs to do their stuff.

“You need a lot of brutality in the pack and arguably we’ve got the best loosehead around in Val Rapava-Ruskin,” said Rumble. “He’s fit again and started against Edinburgh.

“Hooker Jack Singleton is also back after his loan spell at Toulon. That was a very clever move because he’s come back very experienced while our tighthead, Kirill Gotovtsev, is Russia captain, he’s incredibly strong.”

Rumble has high hopes this season for another tighthead at the club, Afolabi Fasogbon, who has just turned 20 and started both the club’s pre-season games.

“He is a giant who has been a mainstay of  England’s under-20s,” added Rumble. “He destroyed France in the World Cup Under-20 final. France hadn’t lost for three years, he destroyed their scrum. Can you imagine him and Gotovtsev?”

And it’s not just the front row that has got Rumble purring.

“Matias Alemanno has played 95 times for Argentina, he’s played in the last three World Cups, that’s pretty amazing,” he said. “We’ve got a gaggle of second rows at the club, someone like Arthur Clark will benefit enormously from playing alongside Alemanno. He couldn’t have a better teacher.

“In the back row Ruan Ackermann is something else. He is one of the first names on the teamsheet, nobody goes down the blindside twice!”

Rumble is also a huge fan of captain Lewis Ludlow – “What an engine, he’d play with two broken legs and a broken arm if he could,” he said – and he is hoping that no 8 Zach Mercer enjoys a standout campaign before heading back to France.

“What a player,” said Rumble. “He’s with us for one more season. Do I blame him for going? No I don’t”

This will be Mercer’s second season with the club and in the past two campaigns the club have finished second from bottom in the Premiership.

Director of rugby George Skivington will be hoping for much better this time around, of course, and Rumble is certainly optimistic.

“I don’t know what position we’ll finish but I think we’ll shoot up the table,” he said. “I know when you’ve been starved of club rugby for a few months you believe in miracles, but with the changes that have been made I think we’ll do much better.

“We’re going to see a much more front-foot, attacking style of rugby with the backs getting lots of ball in hand. We won’t be box-kicking all game.”

The first competitive test comes on Saturday when Saracens are the visitors to Kingsholm.

The likes of Owen Farrell, Billy and Maku Vunipola are no longer at the club but they can still call on the likes of Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Ben Earl and Elliot Daly to name just a few. They’ve also just signed prop Fraser Balmain from Gloucester.

Saturday’s game kicks off at 5:30pm. KSM is an independent body for Gloucester Rugby supporters.