Gloucester: Ruan Ackermann, Chris Harris & Freddie Clarke among 19 leaving

The departure of 19 Gloucester players at the end of the season is “definitely not a clear out” said director of rugby George Skivington.

Ruan Ackermann, Freddie Clarke, Chris Harris, Zach Mercer, Albert Tuisue and Mayco Vivas are among those who will be leaving this summer.

Back row Ackermann and lock Clarke have both surpassed 150 appearances for the Cherry and Whites, with Scotland and British and Irish Lions centre Harris scoring 26 tries in 106 matches so far.

Fijian back row Tuisue has started six out of 17 matches this season and has been at Gloucester since 2022, along with Argentina loose-head prop Vivas.

“There’s always people’s journeys come to an end, opportunities open up for people, some people choose to move on,” Skivington told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

“It’s always rough, it’s one of the horrible parts of my role is talking with people – we’ve got some really good lads, you have great times with people, you have lows with people and you become close. It’s professional sport and unfortunately that’s part of the game we all sign up for.”