Edinburgh scrum-half Ben Vellacott wary of wounded Gloucester as he faces former club

Premiership outfit visit the Hive on Challenge Cup duty this weekend

Ben Vellacott during an Edinburgh rugby training session at Hive Stadium, on January 09, 2024, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)

Ben Vellacott is familiar enough with Gloucester to know they will be hurting badly when they arrive in Scotland to take on Edinburgh in the Challenge Cup on Saturday.

The West Country club’s 17-10 loss to Bath at the weekend was their ninth successive Premiership defeat, their worst run of league results in the competition’s history.

Vellacott, the Edinburgh scrum-half, began his professional career at Gloucester and still keeps in touch with his ex team-mates. He believes his former club are better than recent results suggest, a claim given added weight by their European form: Gloucester are top of Pool 3, three points above Edinburgh, after winning their opening two games.

“I have watched a lot of Gloucester’s games this season, I always keep an eye on their results,” said Vellacott. “They’ve got a place in my heart as I grew up there and they gave me the chance to play professional rugby when nobody else did so I’m looking forward to playing against them at the weekend.

“They just lost to Bath but that is a tough place to go and Bath are an in-form team. You can't write anybody off in the Prem because it’s an incredible league from top to bottom. They will be a desperate team and want to win so we can’t take them lightly.”

The match is already a sell-out. Edinburgh Rugby, meanwhile, have announced a partnership with the University of Edinburgh which will see the two institutions work together closely on player recruitment, development, education and coaching, and to enhance the university’s rugby programme. The partnership will also give Edinburgh Rugby access to the university’s training facilities.