Gloucester Rugby: Cowan hopes Cherry and Whites have turned the corner

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JIMMY Cowan reckons Gloucester’s festive double can act as a turning point in their tumultuous season.

The Cherry and Whites went into the season of goodwill with little reason for cheer having lost five Premiership encounters on the bounce.

But they finished 2013 on a positive note with back-to-back victories over fellow basement boys Worcester Warriors and London Irish.

The former All Black scrum-half admits they were make or break encounters for Gloucester – now he has urged the club to kick on.

Cowan said: “We realised as a group that we had to win both matches. Worcester and Irish were both with us at the bottom of the table and it was critically important that we came away with two wins.

“From where we have been in the last few weeks, back-to-back victories will do us a world of good going forward.

“Winning is a habit just as losing is contagious and hopefully we can keep it going with some tough games coming up.

“These victories can kick-start our season. If you look at the last four weeks we have started to play reasonable rugby, from one to 23 we are all on the same page in what we want to do and achieve and the set-piece has stepped up to give us a platform up front which makes all the difference.

“They haven’t been pretty games for the supporters but a win’s a win and now we can look forward to Saracens on Saturday.”

Cowan is well aware of the threat Saracens pose. The Premiership pace-setters have won 10 of their 11 Premiership encounters to date.

Mark McCall’s men also boast a formidable record against the Cherry and Whites with last season’s 28-23 loss at Kingsholm their only defeat in the previous seven clashes between the two sides.

Gloucester have not completed a hat-trick of Premiership victories since October 2012 but Cowan reckons their new found confidence could be crucial.

He added: “It was critical that we picked up the wins to restore confidence. It will really help us going forward.

“There’s no doubt it’s going to be a tough match. They’re top of the table but it’s a challenge that we’re ready for and anything is possible.

“Saracens have threats right across the field. They have good individuals but from 1 to 15 they are all class players.

“They like to use the ball and have really brought their game along with lots of offloading. We have to stop that at source and negate that from them.

“We will get stuck into them and hopefully we can carry on in our winning ways.”

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Gloucester Rugby: Cowan hopes Cherry and Whites have turned the corner