Buxton to skipper Gloucester
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:48
Gloucester Rugby stalwart Peter Buxton will skipper the side as Gloucester take on Northampton Saints in the final of the LV=Cup at Sixways on Sunday.
Buxton, who joined Gloucester from Newport in 2002, has gone on to pass the 200 appearances mark for the club and recently signed a new two year contract with the club.
He captains the side with this season's joint club captains, Gareth Delve and Mike Tindall, away with Wales and England respectively on Six Nations duty.
He leads a side which shows four changes to the starting line up from the Cardiff semifinal last weekend.
Tim Molenaar, who has enjoyed such an impressive first season with Gloucester, resumes his partnership in the centre in Tindall's absence with Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu.
Meanwhile, on a weekend where so many Gloucester players are on international duty, Rory Lawson is a welcome returnee from the Scotland camp.
In the pack, Pierre Capdevielle comes in for Paul Doran-Jones who picked up a knee injury in Cardiff and Adam Eustace replaces Jake Boer who also left the Welsh capital with an injury.
Head coach Bryan Redpath acknowledged that Northampton are a very good side and that Gloucester will be missing several players but that he's content with the resources at his disposal.
"It's massive for the club. We set ourselves some targets to achieve and the first of those comes up with this final on Sunday," Redpath said.
"Your next game is your biggest challenge and last week is gone and we've learned from that. You move on and this is a big game for us.
"Northampton are a quality side. They've been very consistent throughout the season. We've looked at some of the stuff they've achieved this season and admired it. It's been outstanding.
"It's going to be a tough challenge, we have a fairly hefty injury and absentee list. But that's life. The boys that are here are still good enough to go out and compete at this level. I'm happy with the boys that are around.
"I'm looking forward to it massively."
Gloucester: 15 Freddie Burns, 14 James Simpson-Daniel, 13 Tim Molenaar, 12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 11 Lesley Vainikolo, 10 Nicky Robinson, 9 Rory Lawson, 8 Adam Eustace, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Peter Buxton (captain), 5 Alex Brown, 4 Will James, 3 Pierre Capdevielle, 2 Olivier Azam, 1 Nick Wood.
Replacements: 16 Darren Dawidiuk, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Rupert Harden, 19 Apo Satala, 20 Andy Hazell, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Tom Voyce, 23 Charlie Sharples.
Date: Sunday, March 21
Venue: Sixways
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Peter Huckle (England), Roger Baileff (England)
TMO: Ed Morrison (England)