Former Cornish Pirates stalwart Rob Cook arrived at Kingsholm in the summer with two clear aims – to prove he could handle Aviva Premiership rugby and repay Nigel Davies' faith.
This weekend he will end his debut top-flight season having achieved plenty more than that.
The water-tight full-back hopes Gloucester can end their season with an emphatic result at Exeter Chiefs tomorrow – to ease the frustration of missing out on the Premiership play-offs.
Former Minor Counties cricketer Cook made the step up from the Pirates last summer, as one of new boss Davies' first Kingsholm signings.
The unassuming 28-year-old just wanted to hold his own in his debut Premiership season. But after a steady start he has improved every week, to the point where rugby director Davies has hailed him as one of Gloucester's most influential stars.
Cook also came third in the season ticket holders' player of the year vote, behind Akapusi Qera and winner Sione Kalamafoni.
The Lincoln-born counter-attacking threat admitted he has exceeded his own expectations this season.
He explained: "It's been a great year – I was just happy to be here at the start of the season. But to be on that list and receive votes from the supporters, that's fantastic.
"I wanted an opportunity to prove, probably more to myself than anyone else, that I could do it at this level. And I'm just really happy Nigel approached me and gave me the opportunity. I hope I've repaid him with what I've done."
Former cricket coach Cook racked up 1,029 points in three seasons at the Pirates between 2009 and 2012.
After excelling in the Championship in that prolific stint, the accurate goal-kicker finally won his top-level chance with Gloucester this term.
Ready to push to an even more fruitful campaign next year, Cook said Gloucester can challenge for the top titles – provided they finally strike out their frustrating inconsistency.
He continued: "The Premiership was always the next step when I was in the Championship. But now I've had one year I want to go further again and see how far I can push myself. We want to finish the season on a high and give ourselves momentum going into next year.
"We're disappointed not to get into the top-four, and the best way to get over that is to put in another performance like the Saracens game.
"You look back at some of the games over the season, and had we won those we would be in the top four, fairly obviously. But it was games we ought to have been winning that we lost. And so consistency and mental approach is going to be everything moving forward now."
