VOLCANO'S DORMANT NO LONGER

LESLEY VAINIKOLO has been promised love at Gloucester - so he can show his mean streak in the Heineken Cup.

The Volcano is ready is ready to erupt on the pitch again after being cleared of GBH charges.

The court case was just the latest setback in a nightmare two years for the crisis-hit England wing.

In a matter of months last year, Vainikolo lost his 37-year-old brother, Kava, to a heart-attack and his father died as well.

He was then ruled out for seven months when he ruptured his Achilles.

And then came what could have been the final straw when he was twice hauled into court to face charges of assaulting a fan outside a Bath nightclub. Charges were finally dropped this week.

Gloucester boss Bryan Redpath reckons all the Tongan needs is a little loving care to be firing on all cylinders again.

Redpath said: "Les has had a really tough time of things recently.

"He just needs to get some confidence and a bit of love to be start playing the way we know he can.

"I'm not sure I'm the person to give him some love. But as a coach, you need to understand people and I'll certainly help him regain his self-belief."

Redpath believes Vainikolo was thrown into international rugby union far too soon - only five months after his conversion from league.

He did not score a try in his first five Tests and has not been part of the England set-up since he picked up the Achilles injury against Saracens in January.

He has not been included in coach Martin Johnson's elite training squad for 2008-09.

Redpath said: "People are saying Les should be this or that. But England probably picked him too early.

"I understand why he was selected, after scoring five tries on his Gloucester debut. There were signs that he was ready, but there were also signs that he wasn't.

"It's now up to us to build up his confidence and get the best out of Lesley Vainikolo."

He will continue march back at Leeds Carnegie today before taking on Newport Gwent Dragons on the opening night of the Heineken Cup next Friday.

Redpath said: "We definitely haven't seen the best of Les. The Achilles was a big injury for a player to come back from. He's still some getting back to where he wants to be after losing some weight but with hard work he's given himself a great chance.

"Lesley has something that no one else has with his size and speed.

"But Europe is a tough place where they work out how to take away your strengths.

"With the squad we have, there's no reason why we can't do well."

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