Seb Atkinson makes England vow ahead of Nations Championship and the ‘only thing’ that matters to Gloucester

Don’t try to convince Seb Atkinson the only Gallagher PREM matches of consequence this weekend take place in Bath and Exeter. You will be here all day.

The spotlight on Saturday, without doubt, falls on the Recreation Ground, where Bath play Leicester for the prize of home advantage in the play-offs – and Sandy Park, where Chiefs and Saracens scrap for the final spot in the post-season.

There is jeopardy aplenty at both venues. Victory for Johann van Graan’s faltering side would place them second to Northampton and bring a home semi-final against Tigers, whereas defeat could drop them as low as fourth and send them out on the road.

Further south and west Mark McCall will either finish his decorated career with an abrupt season-ending defeat or the Saracens boss will advance to the last-four in place of opponents Exeter.

Important fixture

It is hard to make a case for another game getting a look-in except that down amongst the dead men proud rugby clubs Gloucester and Harlequins are fighting over the last available spot in the Investec Champions Cup.

Neither team has had much to shout about this season and failure to claim a place in club rugby’s most prestigious competition, when all but the bottom two in the PREM are guaranteed a spot, would be a humiliation.

Factor in England selection for this summer’s Nations Championship and you can begin to see why Gloucester captain Atkinson, who started the last two rounds of the Six Nations, is fired up for Super Saturday.

The Cherry and Whites hosting bottom club Newcastle and Quins entertaining Northampton might not jump off the fixture list but in the last chance saloon those games will be on all the screens.

Atkinson says: “Champions Cup qualification is the only thing we targeted five or six weeks ago when we set out our goals for the remainder of the season.

“We are a point ahead of Quins and we have a home game, but seeing what Newcastle did at Sale last week, coming from 25 points down to win, is a reality check for us all.

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“There will be no complacency from us, we have a job to do. We are going out to repay our fans for the support they have given us throughout what has been a tough year.

“The results, both with Gloucester and England, have been up and down. I have just tried to be as consistent as I can in how I play and how I lead.”

Having earned rave notices on England‘s tour of the Americas, Atkinson was teed up to start at inside centre in the November series, only for an injury sustained against Bath to sideline him until the new year.

“I felt I’d earned that opportunity in the summer, which was frustrating,” he admits. “I tried to use it as motivation to work on my game, and find another level to what I’m capable of.

“I’ve definitely learned a lot about myself, which hopefully will put me in a better spot going forward. I genuinely think the competition for England selection will bring the best out of me.”

Solid recent form

Gloucester have beaten Exeter and Sale in their two most recent outings at Kingsholm and last week led table-topping Northampton four times at Franklin’s Gardens before being pipped at the death.

They are playing their best rugby of the season. Fly-half Charlie Atkinson is flying, as is Max Llewellyn, Ben Loader, Arthur Clark and Will Trenholm. Stitching it all together, with minimum fuss and maximum impact, is Seb Atkinson.

“He’s a brilliant player is Seb,” George Skivington, Gloucester’s director of rugby, tells Planet Rugby. “What I particularly like is that after a breakout tour with England last summer he had a period out injured yet stayed on it, focused, positive, leading.

“In the big games, the tough games, his quality has really shone through. I’ve chatted with Steve (England head coach Borthwick]. Seb is obviously going to be in the squad and I would expect that, the way he’s been playing.

“I obviously don’t pick that team, but Steve appreciates his workrate, his leadership, the qualities he’s got.”

At Saints last Saturday the two Atkinsons and Llewellyn outshone a home midfield of Fin Smith, Rory Hutchinson and first Tom Litchfield then his replacement, Fraser Dingwall.

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The two centres claimed tries, the ever-improving fly-half was a controlling influence throughout.

“Charlie’s vision, some of his decisions and the speed he plays at are amazing,” says namesake Seb. “Max’s physicality, both with and without the ball, is creating me a lot of opportunities as well.”

Gloucester have Wales duo Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake joining this summer. So too, South Africa lock Jean Kleyn and ex-England scrum-half Dan Robson.

They readily admit next season is already in their thoughts, not least because a rash of injuries decimated their challenge for this campaign before it got going. Only in the past five or six weeks have they started really getting things back together.

“The difference in our training, in the continuity of team we’ve been able to pick the last couple of months, has been massive,” Skivington admits. “You can start to see combinations coming through.

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“Seb and Max, Charlie’s a different bloke to 12 months ago. His rise this season has been unbelievable. I thought the game management of him and Seb combined was unbelievable at Saints.

“These boys are fighting hard, showing real character in defence as well as attack and it’s great to watch. It’s definitely frustrating for what could have been but all you can do is look forward.

“We’ve exposed more players than any other team in the league this year out of necessity. This game is brutal and you do get kicked around a bit. But we’re still here, still fighting.

“We’ve got one more game, Champions Cup qualification is in our hands.”

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