Cook feels Championship is a gold mine for Premiership elite
There is plenty more talent where we came from – that's the message from Gloucester's Championship recruits.
Former Cornish Pirates full-back Rob Cook hopes Aviva Premiership clubs will keep on handing Championship stars the chance to prove themselves at the top level.
The 28-year-old summer recruit from Pirates produced a near-faultless display in last Saturday's 16-10 Westcountry derby victory over Bath.
Cook's try helped the Cherry and Whites extend a winning sequence over their fierce rivals to five straight Premiership clashes.
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Irish powerhouse wing Shane Monahan blasted craters all over the Kingsholm field last Saturday, the 25-year-old former Rotherham Titans man showing his Premiership class once again.
Both men are intent on forging long-term Kingsholm careers, and Cook urged Premiership clubs to keep mining the talent from the league below.
Cook explained: "I don't think the step from the Championship is massive for the individual – it is for a team of course – but then, that said, Exeter have done brilliantly and London Welsh have had a good start.
"It's about getting used to playing in the side and understanding what the players around you are going to do, that's the main aim at the moment.
"The step up is a fantastic challenge, and with all the training and the set-up, everything's in place for you to take that chance.
"I'm loving it at the moment, and I'm sure Shane is too.
"If you look at all the boys who have gone through to the Premiership, then the talent speaks for itself.
"Matt Hopper blew the Premiership up last season after joining Harlequins from the Pirates."
Cook and Monahan joined fellow new Championship recruits Sione Kalamafoni and former Pirate Drew Locke in this year's Gloucester squad, while former Nottingham duo Tim Taylor and Tim Molenaar have long since proved their Premiership potency.
Injuries to Charlie Sharples and Jonny May might have given Cook his first run in the full Gloucester side – but he added that he is now determined to make the most of the chances in front of him.
He said: "There's plenty of players in that league who have the talent and the ability – it's about having the opportunity, working hard to create it and then striving to take it if it comes. I've got that opportunity now, and I don't intend to waste it or give it away.
"Hopefully, Premiership clubs are well clued up now to the talent that's out there, and it would definitely be great to see more players take that step."
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