SPORT can be a very cruel game. Never more so was that evident than at Kingsholm last Friday night as we lost in the dying moments of the derby in heart-breaking fashion.

Looking back at the final seconds of the game and the decision of the officials, all I can say is that it remains a bitter pill to swallow.

Standing on the sidelines with time up, having come off for the final 19 minutes, we all went through a real range of emotions.

From elation at a win on the road at such a difficult place to visit to bitter disappointment as the turnaround slowly unfolded for several agonising minutes – in my career I can scarcely remember a more dramatic finish to a game.

The dressing room was naturally a very quiet place after the game and such a cruel blow. But we go again on Friday night against London Wasps and there is no better way to turn the tide than on home soil in front of our fans.

The players have come back to Sixways determined to be strong in the face of adversity and after such a dramatic experience at Gloucester. We’re not getting the rewards we feel we deserve for the way we are playing. But we will continue to play the brand of rugby we have in recent games and I’m confident that will change.

I’d like to add that all the squad have thrown their support behind Errie Claassens after his red card.

Errie is known as one of the nicest men in rugby and so he was naturally devastated with what happened in the final few minutes.

However, he remains a fantastic professional who has put his body on the line countless times for the club in the past. We are right behind him and it’s been great to see so many words of support for Errie from our fans too.

Although we didn’t get the result we deserved, I don’t think any of the fans who were at the game or watching on television could fault the effort and desire of the players.

Jake Abbott summed up the spirit as he played on minus a front tooth after a nasty clash of heads towards the end and is showing the scars of battle this week.

I felt we produced some good attacking rugby as Josh Matavesi scored a great solo effort and Alex Grove pounced on a loose pass to get the try he deserved.

Our defence was also solid right until the end and if we can keep the penalty count down like we did in the second-half then games will start to swing in our favour.

It’s our last Friday night game of the season this week against Wasps and it would be fantastic to see another passionate and vocal home crowd packed into Sixways.

We’ve really produced under the floodlights this season and need another big display against a Wasps side that will be smarting after a loss to London Irish. It’s all set up to be a cracking game.