Gloucester are unhappy with their current schedule, which sees them open their Heineken Cup campaign against Ulster in Belfast on Friday night, only five days after Sundays defeat in the EDF match against Wasps.

After that game, Dean Ryan, the Gloucester head coach, described it as an impossible ask, claiming: I think its ludicrous.

McCafferty responded: We are acutely aware of the situation with regard to Sunday and Friday turnarounds.

There were two situations last season, with London Irish and Sale. Weve worked pretty hard on the seasons structure, not only with the RFU but also on our own competitions as well, to try to avoid this situation.

Regrettably, this one we couldnt do but it is very much something that is on our radar screen each season.

He promised: To make sure that we give our English clubs the best possible chance we try and avoid any repetition of these situations.

We are also trying to work with Europe on the scheduling of games but recognise there are a lot of competing interests there.