Wednesday was a good time to go to Gloucester. There was no shower of rain to spoil a visit to the bucolic training facilities at Hartpury College; just sunshine on a squad preparing for today at Kingsholm, a cherished inner-city home play-off semi-final against Leicester.

If there was a cloud it was only the reminder that Gloucester have been here before, top of the table after eight months, but beaten comprehensively on the spring day that counted, the Premiership grand final at Twickenham: 39-3 by Wasps in 2003, 44-16 by Leicester last year.

Coach Dean Ryan said after the morning training session that he felt the team of 2008 were better able to cope with the play-offs. It was a question of 'maturity' and of having supplemented the squad that had run adventurously last season but hit the buffers on the big day.

As an example of recruiting, he mentioned Akapusi Qera, the open-side wing forward who can do the whole extravagant Fijian thing, but who has also proved himself to be one of the hardest-hitting, toughest-running back-row forward in England.

On the question of maturing, I asked him about Luke Narraway, the No 8 who has had six years at Gloucester but only one that really counts. This one.

'We'd always known about Luke as a talented footballer...' started Ryan, and then paused. And you knew that the two words to describe his 24-year-old were not meant as a compliment. 'But we had reached the stage when we were beginning to wonder whether we could afford such a luxury item.'

Narraway himself knew full well that the pressure was on him. 'I knew it was going to be a make-or-break season,' he had cheerfully admitted earlier, strolling around the perimeter of the training ground.

Gloucester had indulged the development of his footballing talents, releasing him to play on the sevens circuit with England in 2005-06. 'It was one of the best years of my life. We just missed out on winning the world title, and had such a good time ...'

But then Narraway came home, had another bit-part season with Gloucester, was told that it was crunch time and then suddenly became so full-on and full-time in the team that he is obviously going to play an important part in today's proceedings, even if used off the bench. He has also been chosen to go to New Zealand with England in June. What went right?

'Well, I suppose I first had what everyone probably needs at some stage or other, a little bit of luck. I knew the pressure was on me - I was only starting as third-choice behind James Forrester and Gareth Delve. My bit of fortune was that they were both injured at the start of the season. So, I had my chance, and we got off to a great start.'

There had to be more to it than that, some more telling refinement of his play. This was harder to extract.

Narraway was quite happy to talk about his early days, growing up in Worcester, in whose St John's area his Auntie Belinda still runs a flower and veg shop, and his dad, Ian, who played for many a year for Worcester in the back row, the butcher's shop next door. But on what he did to enter the 'maturing' process so dear to his coach, wasn't so easy to decipher.

'Dean talked to me a lot at the start of the year. He said that he wanted me to be good at A, B and C. Now, I wasn't to get him wrong and think I wasn't good at any of those things because maybe in his eyes I was good at A and B. Or maybe there were just little things to work on there... But C was what I had to improve big-time.

'All through the season I've been talking to Denis Betts [a central figure for Great Britain rugby league and the great Wigan generation of the late 1980s and 1990s, and assistant coach in union at Gloucester since 2006]. After every game we talk about what I did here, what I should have done there. He talks to me about running this angle and then "kicking out" to the left or to the right against such and such a player, or remembering that so and so has a weakness on his inside shoulder.'

But mindful of what Gloucester's other assistant coach, Brian Redpath, the former scrum-half of Melrose, Edinburgh, Narbonne, Sale and, above all, on 60 occasions, Scotland, had told me about the club having a better blend of skills and power this season, I asked Narraway what the C might be.

'Well, basically,' said Narraway, and thought again. 'Basically, I suppose it's all about smashing people up.'

Gloucester have danced their way to somewhere near the top in recent seasons, but come unstuck when faced by teams that can overpower them physically. Even this season they went through a sticky patch, losing five Premiership games in February and March.

This was an inevitable dip in form, according to Narraway, given the disruptions to club rhythms during the Six Nations, and yet seemed to confirm lingering doubts that Gloucester were still not tough enough up front in bad weather.

They now beg to differ. Nick Wood has come on in leaps and bounds in the front row, while Marco Bortolami, captain of Gloucester and Italy, will take his place in the second row this year, having missed the final last year through injury. And in the back row, they are spoilt for hard-nut choice with Alasdair Strokosch, Qera, Delve and Narraway occupying the places in the squad. Peter Buxton and Andy Hazell cannot make the roster.

'It does feel different at the end of this season. I am more confident now,' said Narraway. He has changed, but against the grain of how most English players go. The talented footballer has become a bit more the butcher, a bit less the florist.