Skivington shuts down the rumours
George Skivington has put the speculation to bed. Ross Byrne is staying at Gloucester. The Cherry and Whites boss has confirmed his Irish fly-half is in his plans for the 2026/27 PREM Rugby season, despite weeks of British media linking him with a move away.
Byrne had been tipped for Munster. The Irish province is scrambling for answers after losing star fly-half Jack Crowley to injury. Before that, Perpignan had also shown interest. The Top 14 never got to the finish line. Skivington ended the chatter in a few blunt words. “Ross is still with us.”
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A first season that never got going at Kingsholm
The rumours made sense. Byrne, 31, had left Leinster to join Gloucester as one of their marquee signings. Instead, his first year at Kingsholm has gone off the rails. He started the first nine rounds of PREM Rugby, only to be overtaken by Charlie Atkinson, the home-grown England international.
The numbers are ugly. Just one appearance in the last nine weeks of the league season. His most recent outing in any competition came in February, off the bench in the PREM Rugby Cup.
Skivington isn’t making excuses. “Charlie has gone to another level. He took his chance,” he said. The head coach also pointed to a brutal schedule that left little room for rotation, with an early European exit and a season chopped up by cup fixtures.
Minutes are coming
Skivington was crystal clear on what happens next. Asked about game time for his fly-half, he said “definitely” before adding that Byrne needs to play more. Gloucester are competing on three fronts to start the campaign, which should open up plenty of rotation at half-back.
The English coach went even further. “No one wants to see him in that role as back-up, that’s not why we brought him in.” Byrne has, according to his boss, come through a strong pre-season.
Now he has to turn that into selection. At 31, the former Leinster man does not have endless time to kick-start an international career that has been parked for far too long.
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