“It will be a defining moment in Gloucester’s season, and one in which Redpath must choose his ammunition wisely.”

As Gloucester embark on three fixtures that will define their season, Geoffrey Riddle weighs up the Cherry and Whites’ chances of overcoming Leicester this weekend.

Stick or twist? Bryan Redpath, the Gloucester coach, has got a hell of a job over the next eight days as he navigates his squad through matches against the three other teams that inhabit the playoff places in the Premiership.

Starting with Leicester at Welford Road this Saturday, Gloucester then clash with Northampton at Kingsholm on Tuesday in the rearranged round 11 fixture. The squad must pick themselves off the canvas after that and take on Saracens next Sunday. It will be a defining moment in Gloucester’s season, and one in which Redpath must choose his ammunition wisely.

The former Scottish international has a lengthy injury list to contend with but the good news is that Andy Hazell has returned to training and the likes of Lesley Vainikolo, Mike Tindall, Will Buxton and Nicky Robinson may make it, too. James Simpson-Daniel has pledged to be fit in time to host Saints, so what does Redpath do?

Without those men, his side went up to Edgeley Park and scored 31 points against Sale – more than any team for almost a year – and yet managed to lose. Gloucester’s proud insistence on defence – their defensive record matches Northampton’s closely – was smashed by a sublime Charlie Hodgson performance. The Sarries-bound pivot stuck to a territorial strategy, employing a mix of high and long kicks that kept Gloucester at arm’s length.

It is a tactic that Leicester have the ability to employ should they wish to, but their lineout in last weekend’s 17-10 loss to Leinster in Ireland did not function as it should. The flip side to that is that George Skivington is available for selection and should Richard Cockerill, the Tigers coach, decide to employ that tactic, Gloucester may well fall at the first of their three hurdles.

Cockerill hinted earlier this week that he would rest Anthony Allen and Craig Newby, but at the same press conference insisted that his team will buck up their ideas after being downed in Dublin.

“There were some good bits and not-so-good bits,” he said in his matter-of-fact way. “The players and the coaches have to look at ourselves. We should have been better. Did we deserve to win? Maybe not. Could we have won? Yes we could. When you have a disappointing result, how you react is important.”

Those words, or probably a more foul-mouthed version of those words, will be ringing in the ears of all Tigers ahead of Saturday’s clash. Leicester know that if they can knock Gloucester out of their stride it will result in the Cherry and Whites being off kilter for the next eight days. A brutal home win will give the Tigers 70 points, and considering they have topped the table with 73 and 71 for the past two seasons, they are well on course for home advantage during the playoffs.

Despite their dominance of the league, Leicester have not been at their most convincing against the best sides in the section at Welford Road this season. Saracens were lucky to draw an international weekend when beating the Tigers 18-16 last month, but Wasps lost by nine, Northampton by 11, Bath by six and Perpignan secured a draw in the Heineken Cup.

Make sure you have seen the team sheets before having a wager, as Redpath could well name a reduced-strength side, but at the time of writing it all adds up to Leicester edging the live Sky encounter by 1-12 points.

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