Gildart has without doubt earned the right to be classed as our incumbent starting centre.
I agree he did have a little dip in form but nothing significant enough to warrant dropping him.
What will be interesting is to see how things develop for the others lads now they will be called upon to start the season. Both lads will be fighting it out for 1 space and unless Gildart hits the ground running he may find himself under pressure for his shirt.
I’m expecting Hankinson to improve with another offseason in him and I really rate Biby, think he will be a dark horse for an England shirt come this time next year.
Spending the most important part of the year from a physical prep point of view injured isn’t ideal for Gilly but hopefully he should be in a position to do lots of leg work to help compensate for his upper body injuries.