Simpson-Daniel and Gloucester Swim Against the Tide of History

James Simpson-Daniel's career has not exactly been overburdened with good fortune. When England call he tends to break a foot or a collarbone, or anything in between, so when he calls on Lady Luck you know there is more than a hint of desperation.

The appeal is not for himself although there is the chance of a tour to New Zealand this summer. It is more for his club, Gloucester, one of the great underachievers in the Heineken Cup who this evening meet Munster, the most consistent of the European giants. One semi-final in 12 years versus one title, three appearances in finals, six semi-finals and 10 straight quarter-finals.

Mike Tindall returns to the Gloucester squad today but Gloucester's form is unraveling and even on a good day it would be a tough call against a Munster side heavily reinforced by All Black steel. On the heavy grounds of midwinter the free-scoring style which sent them to the top of the Premiership and brought stellar performances in Europe has deserted them. That they are still on top of the league has more to do with other sides tripping up and Simpson-Daniel is brutally honest: "It's not ideal the way we are losing at the moment, going into a game like this with the form we have had lately. If we can nick a result at the weekend I think it would be treated as though we had just won a final. It's such a huge game for us. It's the pivotal point in our season. If we get a result and are in a European semi-final that could rub off on our Premiership games. It could be a defining moment."

It could also mean a huge amount for Simpson-Daniel's England career. For such talent - he averages about a try every two games for Gloucester - 10 caps spread over six years is more testimony to the remarkable ways the Gloucester wing has managed to injure himself on the eve of Tests and tours. The bruised ankle that ended hopes of playing against Ireland is a thing of the past, but that does not mean the week has been entirely without pain. In fact Simpson-Daniel has suffered maximum discomfort trying to explain Gloucester's wretched Heineken Cup history and his part in it.

One semi-final in 12 years? "It's not very good," he admits. "That's why we don't get mentioned in the same breath as the top sides. It's not a good stat for a side that has twice finished top of the league since I've been here. We've won the Powergen and the [European] Shield, but it's just not the same. Twelve years without anything serious is not great."

First there was that 19-15 semi-final defeat by Leicester in 2001, when as a 19-year-old he had every right to believe this would be the first of many big European days. "I don't think I realized how important it was," he says. "I was a young pup and just thought it was another game. If I knew then what I know now ..."

Then came the two defeats in Limerick by Munster, the first in 2003, one of the top five upsets in the Heineken Cup. "I'm just trying to work out how many ways there are of asking about that match," says Simpson-Daniel. "Yesterday I was asked whether it still haunted me and while I don't lose sleep about it, it was one of the worst games I've been involved in. To go there and them to need whatever it was: four tries, how many points difference? We were top of the league and we blew it."

Munster needed to win with a bonus point and to score 33 points, something Ronan O'Gara completed when he converted John Kelly's second try, Munster's fourth, with his final kick. "They did everything they needed to do to win it, which was pretty embarrassing for us. At the same time it is different players now. We've beaten them twice at home and lost twice away. Our hope and our lifeline is that we have shown in glimpses that we can compete against the best this season.

"We're at the top of the league for a reason. We have performed, not as consistently as we would have liked, but there are bits of form in there. We need to drag those little bursts into longer spells. We need to be consistent. That's the way to win these bigger games. We need to do everything right. It would be nice to have a bit of sunshine, but if there isn't then we have to adjust to that. I also think we need a little bit of Lady Luck - we need things to go wrong for them. We'd take that this weekend."